Topher Grace
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Biography
Topher Grace is an American television and film actor best known for his role as Eric Forman in the sitcom That '70s Show.
Topher Grace was born in New York City on July 12, 1978 and raised in Connecticut and Massachusetts. His father, John Grace is a Connecticut-based business executive and his mother, Patricia is an office worker and assistant to the schoolmaster of the New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, Connecticut. Topher Grace was originally named Christopher Paul Grace. He dropped the "Chris" from his first name and chose "Topher" as his stage name because he hated being called "Chris". He chose to go by the name Topher in high school, after becoming frustrated with his full name being abbreviated as Chris.
Grace had a keen interest in acting and took part in several school plays at his school, Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He studied acting at the Groundlings Improvisation School and the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Grace's school plays not just helped Grace in his career but were also the reason for his first break. The producers of That '70s Show, Bonnie and Terry Turner, happened to be the parents of Grace's classmates and were impressed by his performance as Pseudolus in the school play A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Grace eventually bagged the role of Eric Forman when he was in his freshman year at the University of Southern California. Grace made his television debut in 1998 when That '70s Show went on air. Grace left college to focus on his acting career. With the success of That '70s Show, Grace became popular among television viewers. He also received positive reviews for his performance.
In 2000, Grace made his film debut with a small role in director Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, a widely acclaimed film on the American war on drugs. He got positive reviews for his portrayal of a cocky prep school drug addict who introduces his girlfriend (Erika Christensen) to heroin and cocaine. This role was in stark contrast to his image of a level-headed, normal boy on That '70s Show. To say the least, Grace made an impressive debut and his popularity reached new heights.
In 2001, he made a cameo appearance in Stephen Soderbergh's 2001 remake of Ocean's 11.
Grace's film career took off big time in 2004 when he starred in the comedy Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! opposite Kate Bosworth and Josh Duhamel. It was his first starring role in films. The film was quite successful with both critics and audiences.
The same year, he starred in the Paul Weitz dramedy, In Good Company (2004) and P.S. (2004). His performance in both these films was recognized by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures in the category of "Breakthrough Performance by an Actor".
In 2005, he quit from That 70s Show to concentrate on his budding film career.
Links
The Numbers - Topher Grace
Grace Land
Shirtless Male Celebrities - Topher Grace
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