Wilmer Valderrama Reminisces on ‘Friendly Competition’ With Ashton Kutcher | Entertainment

Wilmer Valderrama and Ashton Kutcher acquired a bit of aggressive whereas filming That ’70s Show.

Valderrama, 44, mirrored on his childhood, profession and extra in his new memoir, An American Story: Everyone’s Invited, revealed Tuesday, September 17. After diving into how he landed the position of Fez — Valderrama went in for 4 auditions earlier than formally being solid — the actor shed gentle on the dynamic behind the scenes of the sitcom.

“Ashton was far more intelligent in real life than the character he played, and he was far more serious about the craft of acting than it appeared,” he wrote of Kutcher, 46, who performed the “naive jock” Kelso.

Valderrama appreciated that Kutcher “always came to set extremely prepared, just like I did,” and confessed that the duo had enjoyable difficult one another.

Related: ‘That ’70s Show’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

That ’70s Show managed to domesticate among the most iconic moments in popular culture historical past. It’s additionally accountable for catapulting its youthful stars Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson into the highlight. Created by Mark Brazill, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, That ’70s Show centered on a […]

“He and I soon developed a friendly rivalry to see who could get the biggest laughs from the audience on the first take,” Valderrama wrote, explaining that “the laugh is always bigger” the primary time round. “If you mess up on the first take and try for a huge laugh on the second, the joke never lands as powerfully. If you need to do a third or fourth take, you might as well forget it.”

Kutcher and Valderrama even gave themselves a nickname — the “two-takers” — whereas filming the sequence, “meaning we’d always try to land the first perfectly, then do the second take just for fun.”

That ’70s Show premiered in 1998 and aired for eight seasons, ending in 2006. When Valderrama was first despatched to audition for the sequence, which adopted the lives of six pals in Wisconsin within the ’70s, it was titled Teenage Wasteland.

“I didn’t put much stock into the show at first,” he wrote in his guide. “I vowed to give it my all, just like everything else. But after you’ve been auditioning for a few years without much success, you learn not to get your hopes up.”

Valderrama confronted “fierce” competitors all through the method, and he recalled seeing “a tall, skinny kid with a shock of dark hair” at his first audition. “The name sounded weird, starting with a T but rhyming with gopher. … Tofu, maybe?” he quipped.

He was, in fact, referring to Topher Grace, who went on to star as Eric Forman and have become “the anchor of the show.” Valderrama referred to as Grace “a fantastic actor,” writing that his respect “grew for him” the extra they labored collectively.

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Their little ones! Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon and extra stars from That ’70s Show have supplied a glimpse at their households off display screen. After enjoying love pursuits on the hit sitcom from 1998 to 2006, Kunis and Ashton Kutcher stayed shut pals. In 2012, the duo began relationship amid their respective splits from Macaulay Culkin […]

Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon, Danny Masterson, Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith rounded out the ensemble solid, and Valderrama sang every of their praises individually in his memoir. He gushed over his “beautiful connection” with Prepon, 44, who “became like a sister,” as did Kunis, 41. The whole solid grew to become like a close-knit household.

“It seemed the more we bonded in real life and bulls—ted between takes, the funnier the show became. … We laughed. We joked. We pranked each other. … As costars, we became each other’s No. 1 fans,” Valderrama wrote.

Despite their love for each other — and for his or her characters — Valderrama and his castmates knew the sequence finally needed to come to an finish. “We couldn’t stay teenagers forever,” he acknowledged, noting that they “all grew tired” because the seasons continued.

When the crew gathered one final time to movie the ultimate episode in 2006, the tears had been flowing. Valderrama and his costars, nevertheless, weren’t able to say goodbye but. “For the next 10 days in a row, we all went to lunch together,” he wrote, including that he’ll “forever be grateful” for That ’70s Show catapulting his profession.

An American Story: Everyone’s Invited is on the market now.