Topher Grace
as
Eric Forman
Grace is poised for stardom. And that is the main reason he decided not to sign on for the final eighth season. He as well as Ashton Kutcher wanted to continue their already promising film career.
Rolling Stone hails him as "'a younger, taller, Dustin Hoffman in The Pre-Graduate, tortured but grimacing and bearing it."
Born on July 19, 1978 (27), Topher is no longer a newcomer to the entertainment industry as he closes his fourth year playing the star role of Eric on THAT '70 SHOW. His talents were brought to the attention of Bonnie and Terry Turner and was discovered while performing in a high school play.
His role as Eric Forman in THAT `70S SHOW marks his television network debut. But he is no stanger to the media world! As he has ventured out into the silver screen. "Mona Lisa Smile", "Traffic", "Oceans Eleven", "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton", "In Good Company" and "P.S." and is now filming in NYC (where he currently resides) Spider-Man 3.
Grace studied at the renowned Groundlings Improvisation School as well as the Neighborhood Playhouse.
His theater credits include leading roles in "Our Town," "Godspell," "Lost in Yonkers," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "The Night Before Christmas" and "The King and I." Born in New York City, Grace currently divides his time between home in Connecticut with his family and Los Angeles.
Earlier on
It's tough enough being the star of a new sitcom without being born two years after its 1976 setting. "I have to ask things like, 'Who is Nipsey Russell?" and 'What was Petticoat Junction?'" says That '70s Show's, Grace. He might never have found out had he not impressed the show's creators Bonnie & Terry Turner during his audition for the role of '70s high schooler Eric Forman. "I play an awkward teenage boy who gets rejected. I've done so much research in that department, I can't even begin to tell you." "He just kept nailing it," says Terry. Despite a crash course in the '70s from studying such movies as Saturday Night Fever and Boogie Nights, Topher admits he still has a lot to learn. "Sometimes I look at the clothes," he says, "and I wonder, 'What the hell were they thinking?'"
His feelings on leaving T7S:
"We started when we were so young and we really grew up through this experience together and ... it's gonna be really hard for me,"
"It's out of respect to the show. We have so much fun but you know when these shows kind of get lame after a while, well, we want to go out while it's still good. "Ashton and I, our contracts are done this year but we actually signed up for another year. But we wanna end it."
"Thinking about the end makes me really sad, but I wanted to go out on top, out of respect for the show. Still, I can't even imagine that last taping."
"There is no better job in the universe, I think. I never cry, almost ever, but I think on that last night I'm gonna shed a few tears."
How he is like Eric:
"Everyone's been like Eric; he's the archetypal awkward teenager. The show is really about Eric and Donna - about how this awkward guy gets this amazing, beautiful girl. Eric never understands why Donna likes him, but I think the show lets you see why she does."
Favorite Eric moment:
At the end of the episode "The Pill," when Donna and Eric are talking and Red comes out and squirts him with a garden hose.
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