# Topher Grace
**Topher Grace** (born Christopher John Grace, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom *That '70s Show* and for film roles ranging from [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh)'s *Traffic* to the white supremacist [David Duke](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-duke) in [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s *BlacKkKlansman*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and origin | Christopher John Grace, born 1978 in New York City; raised in Darien, Connecticut[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/) |
| Breakthrough role | Eric Forman on *That '70s Show* (Fox, 1998–2005), played for seven seasons[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/) |
| Film debut | Seth Abrahms in Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-nominated *Traffic* (2000); shared a 2001 Screen Actors Guild Award with the cast[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978) |
| Breakthrough film honor | National Board of Review Award, best breakthrough performance by an actor, 2004, for *In Good Company* and *P.S.*[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978) |
| Notable villain role | Venom in *Spider-Man 3* (2007), for which he gained 20 pounds[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/) |
| Acclaimed later role | David Duke in *BlacKkKlansman* (2018), an Academy Award-winning film[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/) |
| Side pursuit | Fan edits of major franchises, including an 85-minute cut of the Star Wars prequel trilogy[5](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/) |
## Early life and discovery
Grace was born in New York City to Pat, a schoolmaster's assistant, and John Grace, an executive, and was raised in [Darien, Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/darien-connecticut)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/). He disliked being called Chris as a child and formed the name Topher by dropping the first syllable of [Christopher](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/). He attended boarding school in [New Hampshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-hampshire), where he acted in musicals such as *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat* and *The Pirates of Penzance*, and later attended Brewster Academy and the University of Southern California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/).
Acting was not his first ambition. He wanted to be a professional tennis player, and two sprained ankles during a varsity career derailed that plan[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/). A season on the bench led to a tryout for a high school production of *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum*, in which he won the lead[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/). The parents of another cast member were the television producers Bonnie and Terry Turner, whose daughter attended the same New Hampshire school; they saw him in the play and later asked him to audition for a series in development, *That '70s Show*[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-27-et-tophergrace27-story.html). Grace dropped out of USC at age 20 to take the role[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/).
## That '70s Show and early film work
*That '70s Show* premiered in 1998 and was a hit, making Grace and castmates including [Ashton Kutcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashton-kutcher) and [Mila Kunis](https://www.edgepedia.org/mila-kunis) widely known[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/). An executive producer of the series, Jeff Filgo, described his work ethic across 150 episodes of table reads as never unprepared[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-27-et-tophergrace27-story.html).
While the sitcom ran, Grace built a film career. His debut came as Seth Abrahms, the preppy drug-pushing boyfriend of [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas)'s daughter, in Soderbergh's *Traffic* (2000), and the cast shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance in 2001[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978). Soderbergh later used him in uncredited cameos in *Ocean's Eleven* (2001) and *Ocean's Twelve* (2004), playing a self-absorbed TV star named Topher Grace[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-02-ca-topher2-story.html). Further early credits included *Mona Lisa Smile* (2003), *Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!* (2004), and *P.S.* (2004)[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978).
In *In Good Company* (2004), directed by Paul Weitz, he played Carter Duryea, a young executive who becomes the boss of [Dennis Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-quaid)'s 20-year company man and falls for Quaid character's daughter, played by [Scarlett Johansson](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlett-johansson)[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-02-ca-topher2-story.html). Weitz cast him because he needed someone who could believably fire Quaid's character, describing him as having "a bit of an Everyman quality" along with "a real edge and a little bit of iciness"[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-02-ca-topher2-story.html). For 2004, the [National Board of Review](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-board-of-review) and the New York Online Film Critics both gave him breakthrough acting awards for *In Good Company* and *P.S.*[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978) • [8](https://tribecafilm-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release/press_kit/28/GMM_Prod_notes_FINAL4_5.18.2012.pdf).
Grace left *That '70s Show* after seven seasons in 2005 to focus on his film career[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/). He described a deliberate choice not to keep playing the smart-alecky but vulnerable Eric Forman type[9](https://mofflylifestylemedia.com/the-curious-case-of-topher-grace/).
## Venom and range after the sitcom
In *Spider-Man 3* (2007) he played Venom, one of Peter Parker's nemeses. The producers reshaped the character from the bulky figure Grace remembered from junior-high comics into a smarmy "evil mirror image of Peter Parker"[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/). To play the part he worked out six days a week for nine months and gained 20 pounds; the makeup took about four hours a day[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/). He told The Washington Post that the role, like his *Traffic* part, broke the good-guy Eric Forman mold he hoped would not define his career[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/).
Subsequent film and television work has spanned genres. Credits include *Predators* (2010), *Take Me Home Tonight* (2011), which he also executive produced, *The Big Wedding* (2013), and *Interstellar* (2014)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/) • [8](https://tribecafilm-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release/press_kit/28/GMM_Prod_notes_FINAL4_5.18.2012.pdf). On television he played Jim Wilkinson in HBO's Emmy-nominated *Too Big to Fail* (2011) and Dr. Peter Jahrling in the [National Geographic](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-geographic) thriller miniseries *The Hot Zone* (2019), his first starring TV role nearly 15 years after leaving *That '70s Show*[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/) • [8](https://tribecafilm-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release/press_kit/28/GMM_Prod_notes_FINAL4_5.18.2012.pdf) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/topher-grace/).
His most praised later film role came in Spike Lee's *BlacKkKlansman* (2018), in which he played the white supremacist David Duke; the film won an Academy Award[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/).
## Recent work
Grace returned to a regular sitcom role as Tom in ABC's *Home Economics*, beginning in 2021, on which he was also a producer, and made a guest appearance as Eric Forman in *That '90s Show* (2023)[5](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/topher-grace/). He appeared in the 2024 horror film *Heretic* as Elder Kennedy and the 2025 thriller *Flight Risk* as Winston[5](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/fullcredits).
In 2026 he appeared in two A24 projects: the black comedy thriller *How to Make a Killing*, released in February, in which he plays Pastor Steven J. Redfellow, one of the eccentric relatives standing between [Glen Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-powell)'s heir and a family fortune, and the surreal horror-thriller *Buddy*, which premiered at the 2026 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), in which he plays Ben, husband of a woman played by Cristin Milioti trapped in a nightmarish world based on a 1990s children's television show[5](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/). Glen Powell praised Grace's performance as the megachurch pastor during the film's Los Angeles press day[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/topher-grace-plays-megachurch-pastor-new-movie-glen-powell-jealous).
## Fan edits
Outside acting, Grace is known in the industry for fan edits of major film franchises, most famously an 85-minute cut of the Star Wars prequel trilogy[5](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/). He has also made supercuts of television material, uploading a Facebook supercut in 2016 composed entirely of the *Seinfeld* scenes from season 7 of *Curb Your Enthusiasm*[13](https://time.com/4236542/seinfeld-topher-grace-curb-your-enthusiasm-supercut-facebook/).
## References
1. [Topher Grace – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/bio/)
2. [Topher Grace – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/topher-grace/)
3. [Grace, Topher 1978–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grace-topher-1978)
4. [As a Villain, Topher Grace Plays It Cool, The Washington Post (2007)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2007/05/04/as-a-villain-topher-grace-plays-it-cool/321f172f-c404-4b4e-b3f5-26069ab4d0c9/)
5. [Topher Grace, HeadStark](https://www.headstark.com/persons/topher-grace/)
6. [He's an up-and-coming everyman, Los Angeles Times (2004)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-27-et-tophergrace27-story.html)
7. [He's being touted in good company, Los Angeles Times (2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-02-ca-topher2-story.html)
8. [Take Me Home Tonight production notes (credits), Tribeca Film](https://tribecafilm-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release/press_kit/28/GMM_Prod_notes_FINAL4_5.18.2012.pdf)
9. [The Curious Case of Topher Grace, Moffly Media](https://mofflylifestylemedia.com/the-curious-case-of-topher-grace/)
10. [Topher Grace, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/topher-grace/)
11. [Topher Grace film credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333410/fullcredits)
12. [Topher Grace Plays A Megachurch Pastor In His New Movie, And Glen Powell Is Jealous, CinemaBlend (2026)](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/topher-grace-plays-megachurch-pastor-new-movie-glen-powell-jealous)
13. [Here's What a 21st-Century Seinfeld Reunion Might Look Like, Time (2016)](https://time.com/4236542/seinfeld-topher-grace-curb-your-enthusiasm-supercut-facebook/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Go to G*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license