Like many shows, it centered on teenage characters and stars That 70's Show When the iconic sitcom premiered, it was a different age in real life. Over the years, the show's ensemble cast has undergone several major changes, but for the most part it has been led by a consistently young cast that includes Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama. The only major non-series addition to the young ensemble was Josh Meyers' Randy Pearson, who joined the cast for the eighth and final season.
The long-running show ran for eight seasons and a total of 200 episodes, from its original premiere on August 23, 1998, to its finale on May 18, 2006. That 70's Show Given the differences between the show's release date and its structure, as well as its internal timeline, the cast can be confusing. eight seasons take place over just three and a half years From May 1976 to December 1979, ending during the New Year's Eve countdown. However, when the show premiered, the stars were relatively close in age to their characters.
Topher Grace was 20 when That '70s Show premiered
Topher Grace played Eric Forman
Topher Grace was born on July 12, 1978, which means he turned 20 about a month before the show premiered In 1998. Eric Foreman was the main character in the first seven That 70's Show Seasons was 16 years old during the pilot, meaning there was about a four-year age gap between the character and the actor, which grew to eight by the time the show's finale aired. Since the pilot was shot about three months before airing, Grace was a real teenager during its roughly two-month production run.
Mila Kunis was 15 when That '70s Show premiered
Mila Kunis played Jackie Burkhart
Mila Kunis was born on August 14, 1983 he would have turned 15 just a week before the premiere of That 70's Show. Her character, Jackie Burkhart, is a bit younger than the others and was 14 years old at the time of the pilot, meaning she was exactly the same age as Kunis when the episode was shot. At the end of the show, Jackie was 18 and Kunis was 22, but she is the longest-running main cast member who was an actual teenager during the show's production.
Ashton Kutcher was 20 when That '70s Show premiered
Ashton Kutcher played the role of Michael Kelso
Ashton Kutcher was born on February 7, 1978, making him 20 years old. That 70's Show premiered. Since he was a few months older than Topher Grace, he was already that age when he started shooting the pilot, ie. Michael was never a real teenager when he played Kelsowho was part of the main cast for the first seven seasons and made several special guest star appearances in season 8. Kelso was 16 at the time of the pilot, meaning Kutcher was originally four years older than the character.
Danny Masterson was 22 when That '70s Show premiered
Danny Masterson played Steven Hyde
That 70's Show star Danny Masterson was born on March 13, 1976, making him 22 years old when the pilot premiered and was filmed. His character, Stephen Hyde, was 16 years old at the time of the episode, as were most of the main characters, leaving an eight-year age gap between them. It was Masterson the oldest member of the original main teenage cast for two years, and when the show ended, he was 30 years old, a full 10 years older than his then 20-year-old character.
Laura Prepo was 18 when That '70s Show premiered
Laura Prepon played Donna Pinciotti
Laura Prepon was born on March 7, 1980, making her 18 years old. That 70's Show premiere. Although this made her two years older than her then 16-year-old character Donna Pinciotti in real life, she one of the few main cast members to be true rookies for several seasons from the original run of the show. By the time Prepon turned 20 on March 7, 2000, the show had already aired most of its second season, which ended on May 22, 2000.
Wilmer Valderrama was 18 when That '70s Show premiered
Wilmer Valderrama played Fes
Wilmer Valderrama was born on January 30, 1980, one month before his co-star Laura Prepon. At that time he was 18 years old That 70's Show premiered. He was also a teenager for about a season and a half of the show, turning 20 when season 2 aired episode 14 of 26. However, at the time of the pilot, his character Fez was only 15 years old, meaning the age gap between him and his character was a bit wider.
Debra Jo Rupp was 47 years old when That '70s Show premiered
Debra Jo Rupp played Kitty Foreman
Debra Jo Rupp was born on February 24, 1951, so she was at the age of 47 years That 70's Show premiere. His character, Eric's mother, Kitty Foreman, was only 42 years old in the pilot episode, so the age gap between the actor and his character was roughly the same as that of the main teenage cast.
Debra Jo Rupp remained on board as part of the main cast for season 8, despite Topher Grace no longer being a series regular as Eric.
Rupp is one of the only series regulars That 70's Show but also to be the main part That 90s show Cast reprising their role in the Netflix series premiering on January 19, 2023. At that time, the actor was 71 years old, and the character was 61 years old, which significantly increased the age difference. Season 1 of the show is set in the summer of 1995.
Curtwood Smith was 55 years old when That '70s Show premiered
Kurtwood Smith played Red Jersey
Kurtwood Smith was born on July 3, 1943, making him 55 years old at the time of That '70s Show. premiered and was 54 at the time of filming. This is a significant difference from the age of his character, Eric's father Red Foreman, who was 48 in the show's first episode, giving him a seven-year age gap.
Smith repeated it That 70's Show as part of the main cast That 90s show. When the ongoing show premiered, the actor was 79 and the character was just 67, making the age gap 12 years.
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