Eric Forman served as the central character on That '70s Show before he was written out of the show for the sitcom's eighth and final season. Topher Grace portrayed the character from 1998 until 2005, but his career goals led the actor to exit the long-running series before its conclusion. As a result, Grace is absent for most of the show's final season, although he did return to bid viewers a proper farewell in the finale.

Even though That '70s Show featured an ensemble set of characters, Eric was the glue that kept the show together. He might not have been the most confident or the most popular of the group, but he was a loyal friend (and happened to have a basement, which served as the group's primary hangout location). Eric's hijinks with his friends and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his next-door neighbor, Donna, were often the focus of the series. Some of the best moments, however, involved Eric's interactions with his parents, Red and Kitty.

Related: That '70s Show Theory: Eric Was In A Coma (& Died In The Finale)

Red taught Eric many tough lessons over his teenage years, including the importance of maintaining a job and becoming self-sufficient. Upon graduating from high school, Eric struggled with what he wanted to do with the next chapter in his life. After taking a year to explore his options, much to the annoyance of Red, Eric found an opportunity to receive a fully-funded college education if he taught for a year in Africa. He accepted the offer and bid farewell to his friends and family in the season 7 finale. The writers for That '70s Show had the ability to write the character out of the show because Grace gave them fair warning about his intention to leave.

Topher Grace Left That '70s Show To Pursue A Movie Career

Topher Grace as Venom in Spider-Man 3

Eric's departure from the sitcom didn't come from the creative team. The decision was purely made by the actor behind the role. That '70s Show marked Grace's first acting gig. During his time working on the series, Grace explored a movie career. He appeared in 2000's Traffic followed by a cameo in Ocean's Eleven and Mona Lisa Smile. Grace realized that he wanted to grow his movie career but his schedule for That '70s Show was preventing him from acquiring film gigs. In 2004 alone, Grace appeared in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, P.S., Ocean's Twelve, and In Good Company. With that, Grace decided to leave That '70s Show behind to focus on films.

Following Grace's exit from That '70s Show, the actor was cast as Eddie Brock/Venom in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. Filming was extensive, but the movie didn't come out until 2007, a year after That '70s Show came to an end. To honor the job that served as his breakout role in acting, Grace agreed to reprise his portrayal as Eric for That '70s Show series finale. It was clear that the sitcom couldn't survive without the loss of major characters like Eric and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher dropped down to a guest role in the final season because he too was pursuing film opportunities), so it was amusing to see them both return one final time. It was up for debate whether or not Grace made the right choice by leaving after That '70s Show season 7. The actor never reached the level of success in Hollywood that his costars Kutcher and Mila Kunis. In his defense, the actor did appear in big movies following his time on the series, but most have come more recently: within the past five years, Grace appeared in Interstellar, DeliriumBlacKkKlansman, Under the Silver Lakeand Breakthrough.

Next: That '70s Show Reunion Needs To Happen (& Be Set In The '90s)