Topher Grace

Biography

Topher Grace was born Christopher John Grace in New York City, New York, to Pat, a schoolmaster's assistant, and John Grace, an executive. He was raised in Darien, Connecticut.

 He attended boarding school in New Hampshire for two years, where he began his acting career in such musicals as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "The Pirates of Penzance." 

He also tried his first shot at directing with a choose-your-own-adventure-style movie starring his classmates. He hated being called Chris in school, so he changed it to Topher as time went on. He attended New Hampshire's Brewster Academy and the University of Southern California.

Grace dropped out of USC to start his show business career in That '70s Show (1998) at age 20. He was cast in that show because the show's creators, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, saw him act in a high-school play--their daughter attended the same high school. Apart from school plays, Grace had absolutely no acting experience before landing the role of Eric Forman.

Didn't like being called Chris as a kid, so he changed his name to Topher by dropping Chris from Christopher for show business.

To prepare for his role as Venom in Spider-Man 3 (2007), he worked out for six months, gaining 24 pounds of muscle. He based his performance on alcoholics and drug addicts.

Wore a wig on That '70s Show (1998) to make his haircut look more in line with the men's hairstyles of the 1970s. This is why during the first season his hair changes color from brown to light red in some episodes.

While in the Venom costume, he used in Spider-Man 3 (2007), he didn't drink any water during his breaks because he couldn't use the bathroom with his costume on.

Decided not to come back for the last season of That '70s Show (1998) and, instead, bought an apartment in New York to be closer to his family and focus on his film career. [2005].