Christopher John "Topher" Grace (born July 12, 1978)
is an
American actor, best known for playing the lead role of
Eric Forman on the long-running
Fox live-action sitcom
That '70s Show, and the villain
Eddie Brock, Jr./Venom in
Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man 3.
Biography
Early life
Grace was born in
New York City,
New York,
the son of Patricia, an office worker and assistant to the schoolmaster of the New Canaan Country School in
New Canaan, Connecticut, and John Grace, a business executive.
[Topher Grace's Plan for Crossover Success] He has a younger sister, Jennifer. Grace grew up in
Darien, Connecticut, where he knew actress
Kate Bosworth, as well as Opie & Anthony producer Nathaniel Bryan and was sometimes babysat by actress
Chloë Sevigny, who also later appeared with him in high school stage plays.
[USATODAY.com - The personification of Grace] He chose to go by the name
Topher in high school after becoming frustrated with his full name being abbreviated as
Chris.
Grace attended the
Fay School in
Southborough, Massachusetts, The
Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and
Brewster Academy in
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire--where he was noticed by the producer of
That '70s Show (whose daughter also attended the school) while playing the leading role of
Pseudolus in a local stage production of
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Career
Grace was cast as
Eric Forman on
Fox's That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998. The
sitcom was successful and Grace became well known among
television watchers; he played the role until the seventh season, after which he left to prepare for his upcoming film,
Spider-Man 3. The series was renewed for another season despite his absence before its ending in 2006. Grace would make a very brief guest appearance in
the last episode.
Grace briefly attended college at the
University of Southern California, but left during his
freshman year to concentrate on his television work and to pursue a career in film. He played a prep school student who uses cocaine and introduces his girlfriend to heroin 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.
[[1]Flaunt Magazine - Youth Issue 2007] He planned to cameo in
Ocean's Thirteen but due to his filming
Spider-Man 3 he had to drop out. It has been rumored that he would've played one of Rusty's fellow burglars in the beginning of the movie. He was to unmask himself when Rusty had to leave upon hearing Ruben's heart attack. He also appeared in director
Mike Newell's 2003 film
Mona Lisa Smile.
In 2004, Grace had the starring role in two major feature films; he 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's work in
P.S. and
In Good Company was recognized by the
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures in the category of "Breakthrough Performance by an Actor".
In 2005, Grace hosted
Saturday Night Live.
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. A spin off film of
Eddie Brock / Venom is in the works, it is unsure whether Grace will reprise his role. Sony are believed to have doubts over whether Grace could carry a blockbuster on his own. Grace is set to appear in the 1980s retro comedy
Young Americans.
[Faris, Fogler "Kids" again in comedy film Reuters, February 8, 2007.] Grace co-wrote the script and will be co-producing the film.
Personal life
Grace has dated several actresses that include his co-star
Laura Prepon. He also dated
Anne Hathaway and
Ginnifer Goodwin in 2002. Grace recommended Goodwin for the part of Cathy in
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! after they had broken up, and the two are still good friends. He also dated
Ivanka Trump in 2006,
and in early 2007 he briefly dated actress
Emmy Rossum. He dated his
Kids in America co-star,
Teresa Palmer, in mid-to-late 2007.
[Teresa Palmer caught with hand in Topher Grace's pocket News.com.au, August 1, 2007.] [New Couple Alert: Minka Kelly & Topher Grace Okmagazine.com, May 16, 2008.]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
2008
MTV Movie Awards
- Nominated: Best Villain, in "Spider-Man 3" (2007)
National Board of Review, USA
- Won: Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actor, In Good Company (2004)
Screen Actors Guild Award
- Won: Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture, Traffic (Shared with cast, 2001)
Teen Choice Awards
- Nominated: Choice Movie: Rumble, Spider-Man 3 (Shared with Tobey Maguire, James Franco, and Thomas Haden Church, 2007)
- Nominated: Choice Movie: Villain, Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- Nominated: Choice Movie Actor - Comedy, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)
- Nominated: Choice Movie Hissy Fit, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)
- Nominated: Choice Movie Liplock, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (Shared with Kate Bosworth, 2004)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (2004)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (2003)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (2002)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (2001)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (2000)
- Nominated: Choice TV Actor - Comedy, That '70s Show (1999)
Young Artist Awards
- Nominated: Best Performance in a TV Series - Young Ensemble, That '70s Show (Shared with cast, 1999)
Young Hollywood Awards
- Breakthrough Performance - Male, Traffic (2001)
