His debut screen role was as psychiatric patient Max Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which starred Jack Nicholson. Lloyd worked in more than 200 stage productions before trying his hand at film. In 1975, while starring as Oberon in a Yale University production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, he worked with a young Meryl Streep, who starred as Helena.

Lloyd went on to work steadily in theater, mostly in New York Shakespeare Festivals and off-Broadway shows such as The Seagull, Macbeth, What Every Woman Knows and Kaspar, with the occasional Broadway role. His Broadway debut came in a production of Red, White and Maddox, which failed to attract a large audience. Taking advantage of the New York theater scene, Lloyd made his stage debut in a production of And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers by Fernando Arrabal. By age 19, he was taking classes at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre with renowned acting teacher Sanford Meisner. Lloyd first pursued his love of acting by working as an apprentice in summer stock at the age of 14. Lloyd's maternal grandfather, Lewis Lapham, was one of the founders of the Texaco oil company. His father, Samuel, was an attorney and his mother, Ruth, was a singer.

Early Life and CareerĬhristopher Allen Lloyd was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on October 22, 1938, the youngest of four girls and three boys. One of Lloyd's more famous television roles was as 'Reverend' Jim Ignatowski on the hit series Taxi. He also starred in the commercially successful Back to the Future films as the eccentric Dr. Lloyd made his big-screen debut in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which won five Academy Awards, including for Best Picture. Christopher Lloyd began acting as an apprentice in summer stock at age 14 and appeared in more than 200 stage productions before working in film.

Taxi jim tasts his drivers test