Topher Grace Biography

Topher Grace
Biography

Birth Name
Christopher Grace
Date of birth (location)
12 July 1978
New York, New York, USA

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Lanky, personable, and looking for all the world like Alan Alda's long-lost son, Topher Grace made an impressive film debut with his role in Traffic (2000), Steven Soderbergh's epic and widely acclaimed look at the American war on drugs. Grace received positive notices for his work in the film, which cast him as a cocky prep school boy who turns his girlfriend (Erika Christensen) on to heroin and cocaine. The role marked a drastic departure from the young actor's regular job on the popular Fox sitcom That 70s Show, where he portrayed Eric Forman, a level-headed and predominantly wholesome high school student coming of age in Me-Decade Wisconsin.

A native New Yorker, Grace was born in the city on July 12, 1978. Raised in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he began acting in school plays and was a student at New Hampshire's Brewster Academy when his performance in a school production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum effectively secured him his first professional job. Among those to see the play were Bonnie and Terry Turner, parents of one of Grace's classmates and the would-be producers of That 70s Show. Impressed with the young actor's work in the play, they tapped him for the role of Eric Forman during his freshman year at the University of Southern California. Grace, who had studied acting at the Groundlings Improvisation School and the Neighborhood Playhouse, made his television debut in 1998, winning over both new fans and critical approval. His acclaimed work in Traffic, two years later, saw the actor's popularity further increase, acting as another testament to the beginnings of a promising career.

While continuing to appear on That 70s Show, Grace remained selective of his film roles. Aside from showing up in a cameo as himself in Traffic director Stephen Soderbergh's 2001 remake of Ocean's 11, he didn't appear in a film for three years. However, with his supporting turn in the Julia Robert's drama Mona Lisa Smile, it appeared Grace's film career was building steam.

For his first big-screen starring role, Grace played opposite Kate Bosworth and Josh Duhamel in the 2004 love-triangle comedy Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, which was mostly well-received by critics and audiences. Later in 2004, the young actor could be seen in the ensemble film sophomore effort from Roger Dodger director Dylan Kidd, P.S..