Topher Grace

Christopher John "Topher" Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eric Forman in the sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2005) and Eddie Brock / Venom in the film Spider-Man 3. He has also starred in the films Traffic (2000), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), p.s. (2004), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), In Good Company (2004), Valentine's Day (2010), and Predators (2010).

Grace also played the lead role in the ABC comedy series Home Economics (2021–2023) and has had supporting roles in films such as Interstellar (2014), BlacKkKlansman (2018), and Heretic (2024).

Early life Christopher John Grace was born in New York City on July 12, 1978. His mother, Pat, was the assistant to New Canaan Country School's headmaster; his father, John Grace, was a Madison Avenue executive. Grace was raised an Episcopalian.

He grew up in Darien, Connecticut, where he became friends with Kate Bosworth in middle school and was babysat by Chloë Sevigny, who later appeared with him in high school plays.

Career Grace was cast as Eric Forman on Fox's That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998. He played the role regularly until the show's 7th season, when 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. Reflecting on his experience working on the show in 2018, Grace described it as being "like a boot camp [...] for acting." He explained: "There's a filmic element, so you learn that. There's a live audience, so there's kind of a theater element. And when you suck, which you do — especially, like me, if you've never acted before — you get back up next week, do another show. And I think everyone on that show would tell you that over four or five years, we got good."

Grace played a prep school student who 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.

He planned to cameo in Ocean's Thirteen. However, due to 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." He appeared in director Mike Newell's 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile.

In 2004, Grace played the leading roles in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and In Good Company. That same year, he starred in 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.

On January 15, 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 child. In 2009, Grace became the subject of a recurring column on the entertainment/pop culture site Videogum, entitled "What's Up With Topher Grace?"

In 2010, Grace appeared in the ensemble comedy Valentine's Day and played the character of Edwin in Predators.

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

In 2012, Grace starred alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Matthew Gray Gubler in the social film The Beauty Inside, which won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approach to an Original Daytime Program or Series in 2013. The film was directed by Drake Doremus and written by Richard Greenberg.

In 2014, Grace starred in the indie thriller The Calling, alongside Susan Sarandon, and appeared in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi adventure Interstellar, in a supporting role.

In October 2013, Grace joined HBO comedy pilot People in New Jersey with Sarah Silverman, but in January 2014, the pilot was passed on.

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

In January 2018, Grace joined the supernatural-thriller Delirium, which centers on a man recently released from a mental institute who inherits a mansion after his parents die. After a series of disturbing events, he comes to believe it is haunted. In August 2018, Grace portrayed David Duke in the biographical crime film BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee, alongside John David Washington and Adam Driver. In 2019, he played Billy Bauer in the 2nd episode of Black Mirror’s 5th season, titled "Smithereens". In 2020, Grace was cast in ABC's Home Economics pilot. On April 30, 2022, it was announced that Grace would have a guest appearance in the follow-up sitcom, That '90s Show. In 2024, Grace starred in the horror film Heretic and in 2025, he starred in the action thriller Flight Risk.

Other ventures Grace has long held an interest in making fan edits of popular films, particularly those involving Star Wars. He has stated that this has become a source of relaxation for him. His edits were shared on his now-defunct pop-culture website Cereal Prize.

In 2012, he edited the Star Wars prequel trilogy into one 85-minute film, titled Star Wars: Episode III.5: The Editor Strikes Back and showed it to select audiences. The edit utilized original footage, music from The Clone Wars animated series, and a portion from Anthony Daniels' audiobook recordings.

In 2014, he created a cut of Boogie Nights that served as a reconstruction of the character Brock Landers' fake movie Angels Live in My Town.

In 2018, he created his own edit of The Hobbit, stating that "I think that maybe The Hobbit should've been one movie, and many people would agree. Money drives a lot of those franchises. It's better when the art leads." He specifically edited this as a way to relax while portraying David Duke in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman.

In 2019, Grace and editor Jeff Yorkes started a Twitter account for "Lou's Cafe", the pseudonym by which the two credit their work. The name comes from the diner featured in the film Back to the Future. Later that year, he and Yorkes were commissioned by Pixar to edit a retrospective for Toy Story 4, which was titled "Toy Story 4 Ever" and released on Pixar's YouTube account.

Personal life Grace started dating actress Ashley Hinshaw in January 2014. They were engaged in January 2015 and married near Santa Barbara, California, on May 29, 2016. They have three children.

Grace is a supporter of the microfinance organization FINCA International.

Filmography Film

Year Title Role Notes 2000 Traffic Seth Abrahams 2001 Ocean's Eleven Himself Uncredited cameo 2002 Pinocchio Leonardo Voice role (English dub) 2003 Mona Lisa Smile Tommy Donegal 2004 Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! Pete Monash P.S. F. Scott Feinstadt Ocean's Twelve Himself Uncredited cameo 2010 Valentine's Day Jason Morris Predators Edwin 2011 Take Me Home Tonight Matt Franklin Also writer and executive producer The Double Ben Geary 2012 The Giant Mechanical Man Doug 2013 The Big Wedding Jared Griffin 2014 Don Peyote Glavin Culpepper The Calling Ben Wingate Playing It Cool Scott Interstellar Getty 2015 American Ultra Agent Adrian Yates Truth Mike Smith 2017 The Institute Vincent War Machine Matt Little Opening Night Nick Also producer 2018 Delirium Tom BlacKkKlansman David Duke Under the Silver Lake Man at Bar 2019 Mississippi Requiem Breakthrough Pastor Jason Noble 2020 Irresistible Kurt Farlander 2024 Heretic Elder Kennedy 2025 Flight Risk Winston 2026 Buddy Ben How to Make a Killing Pastor Steven J. Redfellow Never Change! Mr. Whiley Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998–20052006 That '70s Show Eric Forman Main role (seasons 1–7); Uncredited cameo (season 8) 2003 King of the Hill Chris Voice role; episode: "Megalo Dale" 2005 Saturday Night Live Himself / Host Episode: "Topher Grace / The Killers" Stella Older Kevin Episode: "Paper Route" Robot Chicken Eric Forman Voice role; episode: "Gold Dust Gasoline" 2008 The Simpsons Donny Voice role; episode: "The Debarted" 2011 Too Big to Fail Jim Wilkinson Television film 2012 Comedy Bang! Bang! Cameraman Episode: "Seth Rogen Wears a Plaid Shirt & Brown Pants" The Beauty Inside Alex 6 episodes 2013 People in New Jersey Carl Levin Unsold TV pilot 2015 The Muppets Himself Episode: Pilot Drunk History Milton Bradley Episode: "Games" 2016 TripTank Leonard Voice role; episode: "Sick Day" 2017 Workaholics Noel Episode: "Weed the People" Get Shorty Tyler Mathis 2 episodes 2019 Love, Death & Robots Rob Episode: "Ice Age" The Hot Zone Dr. Peter Jahrling Miniseries Black Mirror Billy Bauer Episode: "Smithereens" 2020 The Twilight Zone Mark Episode: "Try, Try" 2021–2023 Home Economics Tom Main role 2023 That '90s Show Eric Forman Episode: "That '90s Pilot" 2024 The Simpsons Billy O'Donnell Voice role; episode: "Shoddy Heat" 2025 The Waterfront Grady Recurring role

Music videos In the Street (1999) by Cheap Trick, as Eric Forman Don't You Want Me Baby (2011) from Atomic Tom, as Himself

Video games Spider-Man 3 (2007), as Eddie Brock / Venom

Stage Lonely, I'm Not (2012), as Porter, at Second Stage Theatre

Awards and nominations

Film P.S. National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor New York Film Critics Circle Online Award for Breakthrough Performance Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Comedy Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Hissy Fit Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Lipock (shared with Kate Bosworth) 2005 In Good Company P.S. International Online Cinema Award for Best Breakthrough Premiere New Power Award for Actor 2007Spider-Man 3 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Villain Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Rumble (shared with Tobey Maguire, James Franco & Thomas Haden Church) 2008 MTV Movie + TV Award for Best Villain 2018 BlacKkKlansman Cinema Vanguard Award Artist of Distinction Award 2019 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast on a Motion Picture

Television