Topher Grace's big break came with playing Eric Forman on That '70s Show, but his career took off after the series ended. Grace played the central character for seven seasons until he left the popular sitcom in 2005. He later returned for a special cameo appearance in That '70s Show's series finale, which aired during May 2006.
Grace was born in New York City but he grew up in Connecticut. He pursued acting from a young age, appearing in high school theatre productions. Grace's portrayal as Eric in That '70s Show would serve as his first professional acting gig. He appeared as Eric for a total of 179 episodes during the sitcom's run and was a primary character to the show's central storylines. The series tried to replace his character during his absence, but the tactic proved unsuccessful. Grace was one of the faces of That '70s Show since it debuted and the series struggled without his involvement.
Grace's years spent working on That '70s Show didn't deter the actor from pursuing other projects during the same time period. It was clear that his performance as Eric opened up many doors for the actor in the early 2000s. He provided his voice for minor roles in TV such as What's New, Scooby-Doo? and King of the Hill, but most of his work was split with the film industry. Grace appeared in three Steven Soderbergh movies including Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, and Ocean's Twelve. He also starred in Mona Lisa Smile, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and In Good Company.
Following his time on That '70s Show, Grace kept up his focus on film. He notably starred Eddie Brock/Venom in 2007's Spider-Man 3. The actor then worked on movies including Valentine's Day, Predators, Take Me Home Tonight, Interstellar, The Institute, and War Machine. More recently, Grace could be found in the 2018 psychological horror, Delirium. That same year, Grace worked on Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and the neo-noir mystery, Under the Silver Lake. In addition to movies, Grace didn't give up pursuing work in TV series. He appeared in recently released shows such as Get Shorty, Love, Death & Robots, The Hot Zone, and a 2019 episode of Black Mirror.
Grace was seen in the Christian drama, Breakthrough, in the spring of 2019 in which he played Pastor Jason Noble. Next up, the former That '70s Show star will be found in the forthcoming comedy, Irresistible, written and directed by Jon Stewart. The film focuses on a Democratic political strategist who works on the mayoral campaign of a veteran in a right-wing Wisconsin town. Irresistible also stars Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Will Sasso, and Debra Messing.