Biography - Topher Grace

Beyond high school theatre, young star Topher Grace had no acting experience when he was cast in the lead role of the long-running Fox sitcom “That ‘70s Show” in 1997. High school theatre was the ticket to that success, however, as the show’s producer saw Grace in a Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, NH) production of “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” and landed him an audition for the part of goofy, directionless Eric Forman on the hugely popular sitcom. Along with co-star Ashton Kutcher, “That ‘70s Show” would make Grace a major Hollywood player.

Leaving his Northeast home behind (Grace was born in 1978 in New York City and grew up in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire), the naturally gifted actor left for Hollywood and major stardom with “That ‘70s Show”. He attended USC for a year but quickly dropped out for his acting work, and after the sitcom’s debut was cast in Steven Soderbergh’s hugely acclaimed hit drama “Traffic”. Playing alongside Michael Douglas and Erika Christensen, Grace portrayed a self-empowered country-club snob version of his sitcom character in a performance that earned him some rave reviews.

“That ‘70s Show” kept him incredibly busy, but in 2003 he began appearing in more features such as the Julia Roberts vehicle “Mona Lisa Smile” and 2004’s abysmal “Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!” alongside childhood friend and rising starlet Kate Bosworth. 2004 also saw him give his most acclaimed performance to date alongside Scarlett Johansson and Dennis Quaid in “In Good Company”, for which he received numerous comparisons to a young Tom Hanks. Grace’s latest film is the hotly anticipated “Spider-Man 3”, in which he plays a nosy photographer who eventually becomes the villainous Venom. Grace is a welcome addition to the surefire blockbuster’s star-studded cast, which includes Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Haden Church, Bryce Dallas Howard, and James Franco.