Topher Grace: Difference between revisions
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
Grace briefly attended college at the [[University of Southern California]], but left during his freshman year to concentrate on his television work and to pursue a career in film. He played a prep school drug addict in director [[Steven Soderbergh]]'s ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' (2000), as well as had uncredited cameos in Soderbergh's ''[[Ocean's Eleven (2001 film)|Ocean's Eleven]]'' (2001) and ''[[Ocean's Twelve]]'' (2004). He also appeared in director [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]]'s ''[[Mona Lisa Smile]]'' (2003). |
Grace briefly attended college at the [[University of Southern California]], but left during his freshman year to concentrate on his television work and to pursue a career in film. He played a prep school drug addict in director [[Steven Soderbergh]]'s ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' (2000), as well as had uncredited cameos in Soderbergh's ''[[Ocean's Eleven (2001 film)|Ocean's Eleven]]'' (2001) and ''[[Ocean's Twelve]]'' (2004). He also appeared in director [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]]'s ''[[Mona Lisa Smile]]'' (2003). |
||
[[Image:Topher_edited.jpg|thumb|150px |
[[Image:Topher_edited.jpg|thumb|150px|Topher Grace in the film ''In Good Company'', 2004]] |
||
In 2004, Grace had the starring role in two major feature films; he played the leading roles in the [[Robert Luketic]] directed ''[[Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!]]'' and the [[Paul Weitz (filmmaker)|Paul Weitz]] dramedy, ''[[In Good Company]]'', in which he played an ambitious but troubled corporate executive. In the same year, Grace also starred the film, ''[[P.S.]]'', which received only a limited theatrical release. |
In 2004, Grace had the starring role in two major feature films; he played the leading roles in the [[Robert Luketic]] directed ''[[Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!]]'' and the [[Paul Weitz (filmmaker)|Paul Weitz]] dramedy, ''[[In Good Company]]'', in which he played an ambitious but troubled corporate executive. In the same year, Grace also starred the film, ''[[P.S.]]'', which received only a limited theatrical release. |
||
Revision as of 14:47, 26 July 2006
Topher Grace (born Christopher Grace on July 12, 1978) is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing the role of Eric Forman on the situation comedy That '70s Show during the show's first seven seasons.
Biography
Early life
Grace was born in New York City, New York to John Grace (a Connecticut-based business executive) and Patricia (an office worker and assistant to the schoolmaster of the New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, Connecticut); he has a sister, Jenny. Grace grew up in Darien, Connecticut, where he knew actress Kate Bosworth and was sometimes babysat by actress Chloe Sevigny, who also later appeared with him in high school stage plays. He chose to go by the name Topher in high school, after becoming frustrated with his full name being abbreviated as Chris, so he dropped the Chris and kept the Topher.
Grace attended the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where he was noticed by the producer of That '70s Show (whose daughter also attended the school) while playing the leading role of Pseudolus in a local stage production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Career
Grace was cast as Eric Forman on Fox's That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998. The sitcom was successful and Grace became well known amid television watchers; he played the role until 2005, after which he left the series in order to pursue feature film work. The series was renewed for another season despite his absence.
Grace briefly attended college at the University of Southern California, but left during his freshman year to concentrate on his television work and to pursue a career in film. He played a prep school drug addict in director Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000), as well as had uncredited cameos in Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (2004). He also appeared in director Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile (2003).
In 2004, Grace had the starring role in two major feature films; he played the leading roles in the Robert Luketic directed Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and the Paul Weitz dramedy, In Good Company, in which he played an ambitious but troubled corporate executive. In the same year, Grace also starred the film, P.S., which received only a limited theatrical release.
Grace's work in P.S. and In Good Company was recognized by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures in the category of "Breakthrough Performance by an Actor". In 2005, Grace hosted Saturday Night Live. He is currently filming a role in Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi. He will be portraying Eddie Brock (aka the malevolent symbiote, Venom), a fan-favorite Spider-Man villain.
Grace will soon also star in The Crusaders, a drama about the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. He will play real-life civil rights lawyer Jack Greenberg, opposite Terrence Howard, who will play Thurgood Marshall.[1]
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Crusaders | Jack Greenberg | |
| Spider-Man 3 | Eddie Brock / Venom | ||
| 2004 | In Good Company | Carter Duryea | |
| P.S. | F. Scott Feinstadt | limited release | |
| Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! | Pete Monash | ||
| 2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Tommy Donegal | |
| 2000 | Traffic | Seth Abrahms |
References
Footnotes
Interviews
- New York Magazine interview (January 24, 2005)
- IGN Films interview (December 22, 2004)
- Cinema Confidential interview (October 19, 2004)
- BlackFilm interview (October, 2004)
- About.com interview (January, 2004)
External links
- Topher Grace at IMDb
- Topher Grace at TV.com