Christopher Lloyd's mother inspired him to become an actor.

The 88-year-old film star has enjoyed a decades-long career in the movie business, and Christopher has explained how his mom "influenced" him to pursue acting.

Speaking to Michael J Fox for Interview magazine, Christopher shared: "My mother may have influenced me in ways I didn't even detect at the time. I had an older brother who was an actor, but I never felt that had a direct effect on my decision to be one."

The aspiring actor relocated to New York City as a teenager in order to pursue his career ambition.

Christopher said: "New York was familiar because it's only an hour away from Waveny and I went there a lot with my family. The first time I went to a dentist, they carried me up to New York. Anyway, after high school, I started working at a summer stock theatre."

Christopher was just 16 years old at the time.

The Back to the Future star explained: "[I was] 16, maybe. And they were all Equity professional theatres.

"I used to listen to a bunch of actors hanging out and talking about the theatre and New York acting schools. The guy they always talked about with particular reverence was a teacher by the name of Sandy Meisner."

Christopher explained that Sandy opened doors for him in the entertainment industry.

He said: "I went to the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sandy Meisner for two years. I didn't have an agent or anything. I got Backstage, which was a magazine for actors, and you could see what's going on in the theatre. I started doing workshops."

Christopher's mother ultimately felt "proud" and "very happy" that her son became a successful actor.

Asked what his mom thought of him becoming an actor, Christopher replied: "She loved it.

"She lived long enough to see some clippings in the New York Times about Taxi and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In a proud motherly way, she was very happy to see it was working out."