-Our next guest is a talented actor you know from shows like
"That '70s Show" and films such as "BlacKkKlansman."
He executive-produces and stars in "Home Economics,"
which airs Wednesdays on ABC.
Let's take a look. -My God. You were right.
Hanging out with people half our age is kinda fun.
I just signed up for student council.
-Jeremy just asked me to dinner with his grandparents.
I can order anything I want! -And the night is still young.
-And so are we.
[ Both screaming ]
♪♪
-[ Cheers ]
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-If you think about it,
how would we even test simulation theory?
Any sufficiently sophisticated simulation
would be designed to evade such a test.
-Dude, you're scaring me right now.
-Dude, I know.
-Please welcome to the show Topher Grace, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Welcome back! -Oh, man, so good to see you.
-It is great to see you, too.
This is a wonderful show about adult siblings
with a complicated relationship.
In that clip, you were not playing a college student.
You were playing -- -Yeah, just to be clear --
Yeah, those days are over. -Yes.
But this was about people closer to our age
who are trying to relive their younger days.
-Yes, they're having a tough week, and I go to --
I'm a novelist, and we have twins, so I'm like --
I decided to go work at a college, at a library.
And it's really dim lighting.
And one of the students is like,
"Hey, you wanna come to this party?"
And I go, and then my wife comes to stop me,
and then she starts partying.
And spoiler -- they figure it out.
-You hurt yourself in this episode,
in many of the episodes.
You're an executive producer. Do you ever try to talk them
out of having your character get injured so often?
-No, it's the worst, 'cause when I read these --
I mean, I knew you when I was -- back in the day when I was 25.
-Yeah, back when you could jump --
do a broad jump through the sky!
-That's what I was always doing, as you remember.
-Yeah, just constantly. -Yeah.
And when I read the scripts, I feel like I'm 25.
I mean, I used to always do this stuff on "'70s Show."
I remember, between the, like, acts, we'd, like,
be jumping on a trampoline or something.
And then when I do it, like, I broke my ankle.
This was right before one of those things you saw.
We had to jump out a window. They figure out who we are.
So we literally jump out the window.
And I was like, "Oh, yeah, I can stick that landing."
And then, luckily, it was Christmas break afterward,
so I had like 18 days to, like, heal up.
-Did you -- When you broke it, was --
-I didn't break it. I didn't break it.
-Okay, good. Thank goodness.
'Cause I was gonna say 18 days doesn't seem like enough.
-Yeah, but that's the kind of actor I am.
-Yeah, that's right. -Push through it, yeah.
-You've always been. Hey, you know, so, we --
You talk about the fact that we knew each other.
I knew you when you were cast as Venom in one of the previous --
-Wait. Can I tell the story when we first met?
-Yeah, please. -It's my favorite.
I was in a movie with Dennis Quaid.
-Yeah. -And you came by,
and I knew who you were.
I was a big fan of yours from "SNL."
You weren't even doing "Update" yet.
And we were talking, and Dennis Quaid --
And this is really Dennis Quaid's heyday.
And you -- He said --
You said, "Hi, Dennis. Nice to meet you."
And he said, "No, we've met before."
And you said, "I feel like I would've remembered."
-Right. It was insulting --
I was trying to stress to him, like, it would be
super insulting if I didn't remember meeting Dennis Quaid.
-Right, right. -Yeah.
-But, yeah, we --
I remember you called me when I just moved to New York.
-Yeah.
-And you said, "Hey, I know you're in 'Spider-Man.'
They hadn't announced what I was gonna be in "Spider-Man 3."
And you said, "What are you playing?"
And I knew you could keep a secret.
So I said, "Playing Venom."
And you were like, "Oh, it -- Hmm."
[ Laughter ]
"He's kind of a bigger guy."
And I was like, "Oh, no, no. This is gonna work.
Like, they got a whole new take on it,
and it'll be the most popular."
-I was like, "So is it a cartoon now?
Are they doing a -- Are you the voice of Venom?"
[ Laughter ] -I actually had this idea.
We couldn't make it work as an ad.
'Cause "Home Economics" premiered literally like one day
from when "Venom 2" was gonna premiere.
And I was like, "We should do an ad."
They just couldn't -- It was, like, Sony and Disney,
and they couldn't figure it out --
where all of our characters on "Home Economics"
were sitting watching a -- I hope this is all --
We'll edit this out if it's not kosher.
But we were all watching the trailer for "Venom 2."
And I just wanted my character to be, like, not into it.
So, I'm like, "Who even is this guy?"
They go, "Oh, he's so jacked. He looks great."
I'm like, "I don't know, I don't know."
Like, "Who is Tom Hardy?"
And they're like, "You know, 'Mad Max' and, like, 'Dunkirk.'"
I'm like, "Yeah, but is he, like, a good actor?"
And they'll, "Yeah, he's been nominated for an Academy Award."
I'm like, "Okay, but, like, comic-book villain?"
And they're like, "Bane, yeah. He's, like, amazing!"
[ Laughter ] -And you're like, "I don't know.
I always pictured Venom as, like, 'That '70s Show.'"
Like, "I thought it was more of that vibe."
-He should be like a svelte, like, a...
-Little guy.
Hey, you just got to give answers,
or ask questions, I should say,
or give answers on "College Jeopardy!"
-Right. -And I heard that this
was a big deal for your mom.
I should note, this would be a huge deal
if I appeared on "Jeopardy!" for my parents, who watch it.
-Yes, but, Seth, you could be on "Jeopardy!"
I am so -- I can only play smart people.
And that's basically what I did.
They had, like, cue cards. We did, like, many takes.
I had no idea what the answers were
or what I was even talking about.
But then I got to say I was on "Jeopardy!",
And you look, like, really smart when you're on it.
-Yeah. And was -- Your mom was impressed?
-Yeah, I think now she can say, "My son was on 'Jeopardy!'"
-Well, that's great. And nobody asks any follow-ups
to get to the bottom of, like, what you were doing on it.
-No. -[ Laughter ]
-You got to -- Speaking of smart people,
Mark Cuban did an episode of the show.
-Yeah.
-You are a "Shark Tank" fan, correct?
-I am the biggest "Shark Tank" --
I think most -- My wife's an actor, too,
and we kind of watch it
to feel like we understand business in some way,
and we kind of chime in on, like,
"I don't think this is a good deal for Barbara."
But, like, Mark is incredible, and, you know,
such a great guy on that show, but we asked him to come do
"home Economics," and he said yes.
And it's all in a poker-table scene.
And so I got to spend, like, a couple of days with him,
and I felt so good at business...
[ Laughter ] ...after the third day.
-That's the correct term. "Good at business."
Yeah, that's how they say it. -No, he was so cool.
He really was so cool.
Like, surprisingly good at acting.
-Yeah. -And Jimmy and I were like --
At first, we were, like, gonna, try to give him some tips.
By the end, he was, like, improvising, and it was good.
Like, a lot of it made the show. And Jimmy and I were like,
"Why don't you stay in your lane, bro?"
[ Laughter ]
Like, "You can't have everything."
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. "How about this?
I won't seed-fund any new technology..."
-"And you stay away from sitcoms."
Jimmy has, like -- He's not as big a fan as I am,
and he was kind of making fun of that I was a super fan.
And then, to get under my skin,
he started pitching all these products to Mark,
and Mark was such a sweetheart, he really gave him feedback.
But it was like Milwaukee Talkies,
which are walkie-talkies that only work in Milwaukee.
[ Laughter ]
And Birken-socks was this thing.
Like, if you want to wear socks but not Birkenstocks,
the Birkenstocks are painted on the socks.
-[ Laughter ] -And he was patient with this?
-No, Mark was like, "I think, yeah, there's a place for that.
Like, it might not be for me."
[ Laughter ]
-So he didn't jump in on Milwaukee Talkies?
-No, man.
-I think he's gonna regret that one.
-"He's gonna regret that, man!"
-Hey, thanks for being here, buddy.
It's always such a pleasure. You guys, that's Topher Grace.
"Home Economics" airs Wednesdays on ABC.