Topher Grace

Christopher John "Topher" Grace (/ˈtoʊfər/; born July 12, 1978)^[1] is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 3, Carter Duryea in the film In Good Company and Edwin in the 2010 film Predators.

Early life

Grace was born in New York City, New York,^[2][3] the son of Pat, an assistant to the schoolmaster of the New Canaan Country School, and John Grace, a Madison Avenue executive.^[4][5] He has a sister, Jenny.^[6]

Grace grew up in Darien, Connecticut, where actress Kate Bosworth was a middle-school friend; and actress Chloë Sevigny—who later appeared with him in high school stage plays—was sometimes his babysitter.^[6]

Career

Grace was cast as Eric Forman on Fox's That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998. He played the role until season 7. His character was written out and replaced with a new character named Randy Pearson (Josh Meyers). Grace made a brief guest appearance in the final episode.^[7][8]

Grace plays a prep school student who uses marijuana and introduces his girlfriend to freebasing in director Steven Soderbergh's 2000 film Traffic, as well as having uncredited cameos as himself in Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven and its 2004 sequel, Ocean's Twelve. "The joke is that you're supposed to play the worst version of yourself and I don't think too many people are comfortable with that. I never thought for a second that people were really going to think that's what I was like. I think that people will know that I was faking it in those movies," he told Flaunt magazine in 2007.^[9] He planned to cameo in Ocean's Thirteen; but, because of his role in Spider-Man 3, he had to abandon these plans. As Grace said, "I was doing reshoots on Spider-Man 3. I was bummed. I actually talked to Steven Soderbergh about that and we had a thing and then I couldn’t do it."^[10] He also appeared in director Mike Newell's 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile.^[11]

In 2004, Grace played the leading roles in the Robert Luketic-directed Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and the Paul Weitz dramedy, In Good Company, in which he played an ambitious but troubled corporate executive. That same year, Grace also starred in the film P.S., which received only a limited theatrical release. Grace won the National Board of Review's 2004 award for Breakthrough Performance Actor for his work in In Good Company and P.S.^[12]

On January 15, 2005, Grace hosted Saturday Night Live.^[12][13] In 2007, Grace portrayed Eddie Brock/Venom in Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi. Grace himself was a fan of the comics and read the Venom stories as a kid.^[14] In 2009, Grace became the subject of a recurring column on the entertainment/pop culture site Videogum, entitled "What's Up With Topher Grace?".^[15] In 2010, Grace appeared in the ensemble comedy Valentine's Day, alongside That '70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher, and played the character of Edwin in Predators, the newest installment of the science fiction franchise.^[16]

In 2011, Grace appeared in the 1980s retro comedy Take Me Home Tonight.^[17] He co-wrote the script and co-produced the film. Grace also starred opposite Richard Gere in the spy thriller The Double.^[18]

In 2014, Grace starred in the indie thriller The Calling, alongside Susan Sarandon,^[19] and appeared in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi adventure Interstellar, in a supporting role.^[20] In October 2013, Grace joined HBO comedy pilot People In New Jersey with Sarah Silverman, but in January 2014, the pilot was passed on.^[21][22]

Grace co-starred in the comedy film American Ultra (2015), alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, playing a CIA agent.^[23] Also that year, Grace co-starred in Truth, with Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett, and based on the story of CBS's 60 Minutes report that George W. Bush had gotten preferential treatment to keep him out of the Vietnam War. Grace played Mike Smith, a researcher on the story.^[24]

In January 2014, Grace joined the upcoming supernatural-thriller Delirium, which centers on a man, who is recently released from a mental institute, he inherits a mansion after his parents die. After a series of disturbing events, he comes to believe it is haunted.^[25]

Personal life

Grace started dating actress Ashley Hinshaw in January 2014, and the two were engaged in January 2015.^[26] On May 29, 2016, Grace and Hinshaw married near Santa Barbara, California.^[27]

He is a supporter of FINCA International, a microfinance organization.^[28]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music Videos

Theatre

References

External links

• Topher Grace at the Internet Movie Database
• IGN Films interview (December 22, 2004)
• About.com interview (January 2004)