Wilmer Valderrama, the actor who portrayed Fez in "That '70s Show", has opened up about the relationship between him and his co-star at the time, Ashton Kutcher in "An American Story: Everyone's Invited", his memoir shared first with People. Valderrama describes his time alongside Kutcher as a "friendly rivalry."
Videos by Wide Open Country
He refers to Kutcher in the following terms: "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 also said that Kutcher "always came to set extremely prepared, just like I did."
A Friendly Laughing Competition
Regarding their friendly competition, Valderrama reflects on how his relationship with Kutcher evolved throughout the series duration: "He and I soon developed a friendly rivalry to see who could get the biggest laughs from the audience on the first take."
He added: "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."
That is why both Kutcher and Valderrama eventually named themselves the "two takers", with Valderrama stating that they would "always try to land the first perfectly, then do the second take just for fun."
A Truly American Story
Born in Miami, Florida, Wilmer Valderrama grew up in Venezuela up to the age of 13, when he moved back to the US. This led to his acting debut as Antonio in the prime-time television drama Four Corners. After its cancellation, Valderrama landed his iconic role as Fez.
"I didn't put much stock into the show at first. 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", wrote Valderrama, reflecting on "That '70s Show", which aired from 1998 to 2006.
Alongside Kutcher, Valderrama starred alongside his former co-stars Mila Kunis, Topher Grace, Debra Jo Rupp, Laura Prepon, Kurtwood Smith, and Danny Masterson, among others. While Valderrama was part of season 1 of "That '90s Show", a sequel to "That '70s Show", he will not appear in season 2 due to a lack of availability.
