The Untold Truth Of Topher Grace

Most people got to know Topher Grace during his stint as Eric Forman on beloved sitcom That '70s Show, but it's far from the actor's only role. In fact, Grace has worked with a plethora of renowned directors, from Steven Soderbergh, to Sam Raimi, to Christopher Nolan. And while Tom Hardy is currently synonymous with the role of Venom, Grace played the character in 2007's Spider-Man 3, which earned him some seriously mixed reviews. Plus, the star has worked behind-the-scenes on several projects that you might not even know about.

In 2019, Grace revealed to VICE that he feels some guilt about being catapulted to fame in his first professional role. He said, "I never auditioned for That '70s Show 20 years ago. I just went in with only a school theater background. When they first called me, they didn't offer me the role, they just asked if I wanted to try out for something." But it's clear that Grace's innate talent scored him that big break, and led to a dextrous career. Although he continues to remain fairly private about his personal life, Grace hasn't stopped surprising fans with new ventures. From starting a podcast, to launching a website, to dating the president's daughter, there's so much more to Grace than meets the eye. Here, we take a look at some of the lesser known facts about the former TV star.

In 2014, Grace spoke to Mashable about his latest venture. Rather than promoting a movie, Grace discussed a new website he'd set up called Cereal Prize. Of his impetus to start the site, Grace told the publication, "I'm the guy that when you come over to my house to hang out, I always want to show people some weird video I found on the Internet." Sadly, the website is no longer in existence, but Mashable described it as "a hodgepodge of sketch comedies, revamped movie trailers and unaired pilots, among other hilarious 's***' that Grace gathers to share with viewers." 

Mashable explained that Grace was driven to create the site when social media didn't help him to connect with people in the way that he wanted. Rather than just sharing updates or tweets, Grace was keen to build a community of his own, where he could recommend movies and pop culture that he was into, as well as providing updates about his acting career. As he told Mashable, "I feel like it's that Saturday morning, you know, your folks are asleep, you come downstairs to watch cartoons, gobble those crazy sugary cereals that they don't really make anymore." He continued, "You find that prize in it, and each one of these things, each one of these posts, should be like that feeling like you get that prize."

In a way, Topher Grace feels like his success on That '70s Show came too easy. Speaking with VICE in 2019, he said, "I was honestly lucky to not only get on That '70s Show with all those talented people, but also land on a show that did so well for all of us. We got to choose what we wanted to do from there." He discussed the "privilege" he felt in having starred in a hit sitcom, and revealed, "I've always felt guilty about that."

Grace also explained the challenges he, and the rest of the cast, faced coming on to a hit show without much experience. He told Reuters in 2011, "That specific time period was hard at the beginning because we were learning how to act and working hard to make a hit show. Most of us hadn't acted before." Clearly, the creators of That '70s Show saw something in Grace and knew he'd be a great fit for the role. The actor continued to be humble about being catapulted to fame so early in his career as he told VICE, "I guess I imagined that I was going to fail, but I did it anyway. That's sort of how I've operated lately. I've tried to never take the kind of roles in movies that people would assume I would take."

Grace tackled another tough topic in 2019 when he starred in National Geographic's miniseries, The Hot Zone, based upon the non-fiction book of the same name by Richard Preston. The series explores the origins of the Ebola virus, and follows an army scientist (played by Julianna Margulies) who tried to stop an outbreak in 1989. Grace told The L.A. Times, "The research was not just depressing, it was terrifying. This is not a fictional monster. This is something that has been on U.S. soil; this is the time it was on U.S. soil. It's the worst kind of monster; it's invisible."

But it seems that Grace got some helpful hints and tips from his research, as he also told the outlet, "I could tell you everything that's scary about the disease, and when you're working on a production like this, you start washing your hands a lot more and being aware — a lot of these scientists who work with diseases like this, they rarely touch their face" Basically, if you ever wondered why you're always getting sick, according to Grace, the trick is rigorous hand washing, and remembering not to touch your face after you've been in a public place, or potentially come into contact with any germs. Sounds simple, right?

One role that Topher Grace is remembered for, but for all the wrong reasons, is Spider-Man 3. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe existed, and pre-Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire landed the coveted role of the webslinger. And completing Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Grace was cast as the infamous villain Venom in the third movie. In a 2018 interview with Inverse, Grace handed over the baton to the new actor playing Venom, Tom Hardy. He said, "To me — I truly mean this — I think Tom is the guy to play that role." And his enthusiasm for Hardy's casting was emphatic as he said, "I'm thrilled to watch it as a fan. I really mean that."

In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Grace addressed the bad reviews he received playing Venom and said, "I know the movie did well for Sony, but I also know a lot of people weren't happy with it." And he also discussed his somewhat surprising casting during Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast (via CinemaBlend). He told the former Smallville star, "I was a huge fan of the character of Venom when I was a kid." He continued, "I was a huge fan of it. And I was surprised and a little bit like 'Huh?' when they wanted me to play it." It sounds like Grace is more than ready to move on from the role at this point.