Most people know Topher Grace for his stint as Eric Forman on the beloved sitcom That
'70s Show, but there's far more to this guy than bell-bottom pants.
From starting a podcast to dating the president's daughter, this is the untold truth of Topher
Grace.
He really dated Ivanka Trump
Topher Grace married actress Ashley Hinshaw in 2016, and the couple welcomed a daughter
named Mabel Jane in November 2017.
But before he settled down and started a family, Grace apparently used to date Donald Trump's
daughter, Ivanka Trump.
Way back in 2006, People reported that Trump and Grace, quote, "danced and cuddled [...] and
even shared a quick kiss, […] in Las Vegas, where she celebrated her 25th birthday."
Gace told The Daily Beast that though they did briefly date, he never met The Donald.
"Certainly it wasn't a political statement.
This was a decade ago.
I met her here in New York and we went on a couple of dates.
I wouldn't say that we 'dated,' but … I didn't do it for political reasons."
Film flop
In 2007, Grace executive produced, co-wrote, and starred in the feature film Take Me Home
Tonight.
An ‘80s-themed comedy heavily influenced by John Hughes films, Take Me Home Tonight
is probably best remembered now as the film where Chris Pratt and Anna Faris first met.
Unfortunately, the film wasn't released until 2011, reportedly over concerns about the portrayal
of drug use.
Grace told Reuters,
"Our feeling was you can't do a movie about prohibition and not show alcohol use, just
as you can't make Dazed and Confused without people smoking joints.
If you're going to have a group of twenty-somethings partying in Beverly Hills in the 1980s, you'd
be lying not to show cocaine."
Topher Grace feels guilty
In a way, Topher Grace feels like his success on That '70s Show came too easy.
Speaking with VICE in 2019, he said,
"I was honestly lucky to not only get on That '70s Show with all those talented people,
but also land on a show that did so well for all of us.
We got to choose what we wanted to do from there.
[...] I’ve always felt guilty about that.
I was a guy who hadn’t worked before and so many other actors have dedicated years
to get to where I managed to end up."
He added,
"I guess I imagined that I was going to fail, but I did it anyway.
That's sort of how I've operated lately.
I've tried to never take the kind of roles in movies that people would assume I would
take."
Speaking of which...
Joining the KKK wasn't fun
Topher Grace surprised fans and earned strong reviews with his haunting performance as Ku
Klux Klan leader David Duke in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman, which was released in 2018.
Grace told the Los Angeles Times it wasn't much fun.
"The research on that was the worst I've done in my life.
I had to both figure out an impression of [Duke] because he's someone people know publicly,
and then also figure out more than just an impression."
"That meant reading his autobiography, which is like his Mein Kampf, and watching filmed
interviews with him.
So that preparation was horrible."
Grace has ebola (knowledge)
Speaking of horrible preparation, Grace tackled another tough topic in 2019 when he starred
in National Geographic's miniseries about the origins of Ebola, The Hot Zone, based
upon the non-fiction book of the same name by Richard Preston.
Grace told The L.A. Times that the research was both depressing and terrifying.
"This is not a fictional monster.
This is something that has been on U.S. soil; this is the time it was on U.S. soil.
It's the worst kind of monster; it's invisible."
He added,
"I could tell you everything that's scary about the disease, and when you're working
on a production like this, you start washing your hands a lot more and being aware — a
lot of these scientists who work with diseases like this, they rarely touch their face."
That 70's acid trip
In an appearance on Lopez Tonight in 2010, Grace revealed that he once got drugged at
a party.
The actor recalled that he was at a big charity event, and his That '70s Show co-stars, Ashton
Kutcher and Mila Kunis, were also present.
During the night, a woman at his table offered him something that he thought was a breath
strip.
It wasn't.
He said he pulled a friend aside to ask a very important question.
"Is there lava coming out of the back of my head?"
"I think I'm fine, but I can touch colors!"
"Should I get naked, or… like, what's going on?"
"Alright, we gotta leave."
Who's the better Venom?
One role that Topher Grace is remembered for is Venom in Spider-Man 3.
Grace revealed to Michael Rosenbaum on the Inside of You podcast that it was a dream
gig.
"I was a huge fan of the character of Venom when I was a kid.
I was a huge fan of it.
And I was surprised and a little bit like 'Huh?' when they wanted me to play it."
But he also was stoked about Tom Hardy's 2018 version of the character.
Grace told Inverse,
"To me — I truly mean this — I think Tom is the guy to play that role.
I'm thrilled to watch it as a fan.
I really mean that.
I think he's the best dude."
He's ready for That '70s Reunion
Topher Grace left That '70s Show in its penultimate season, only returning briefly for the show's
finale.
As for whether he'd return for a reboot of the series, Grace told The Hollywood Reporter
in 2018 that he didn't think it was likely, but he'd love to have a reunion with his co-stars.
"I would do it for sure because that was a very wonderful time for us.
We were all very close, having that experience every single day with each other.
[...] For me, I'd do it if no one ever saw it.
Just 'cause it would be great to hang out with them for a week or something."
How nice is that?
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