Wilmer Valderrama remembers “friendly rivalry” with Ashton Kutcher

Wilmer Valderrama And Ashton Kutcher became a bit ambitious while filming The wild seventies.

Valderrama, 44, reflects on his childhood, his career and more in his new memoir. An American Story: Everyone is Invitedpublished on Tuesday, September 17. After sharing how he landed the role of Fez – Valderrama had to audition four times before he was officially cast in the role – the actor sheds light on the dynamics behind the scenes of the sitcom.

“Ashton was much smarter in real life than the character he played, and he took acting much more seriously than he seemed,” he wrote of Kutcher, 46, who played the “naive jock” Kelso.

Valderrama appreciated that Kutcher “always came to set extremely well prepared, just like me,” and admitted that the duo enjoyed challenging each other.

Related: The cast of That ’70s Show: Where are they now?

“That ’70s Show” has produced some of the most iconic moments in pop culture history. It has also catapulted younger stars Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson into the spotlight. Created by Mark Brazill, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, “That ’70s Show” revolves around a (…)

“A friendly rivalry soon developed between him and me to see who could get the most laughs from the audience on the first try,” Valderrama wrote, explaining that “the laugh is always bigger the first time.” “If you screw up the first time and try to get a huge laugh on the second, the joke never hits as hard. If you have to make a third or fourth try, you might as well forget it.”

Kutcher and Valderrama even gave themselves a nickname while filming the series: the “Two-Takers,” meaning “we always tried to get the first take perfect and then do the second take just for fun.”

The wild seventies The series premiered in 1998 and ran for eight seasons until it ended in 2006. When Valderrama was first sent to audition for the series, which followed the lives of six friends in Wisconsin in the 1970s, it was called Teenage Wasteland.

“I didn’t think much of the show at first,” he wrote in his book. “I vowed to give it my all, like I did with everything else. But after a few years of auditioning without much success, you learn not to get your hopes up too much.”

Valderrama faced “fierce” competition throughout the application process and recalled seeing “a tall, skinny boy with a head of dark hair” at his first audition. “The name sounded funny, it started with T but rhymed with Gopher. … tofumaybe?” he joked.

He was of course referring to Topher Gracewho later took over the role of Eric Forman and became the “host of the show.” Valderrama called Grace “a fantastic actor” and wrote that his respect for him “grew” the longer they worked together.

Related: The next generation of the “That ’70s Show” cast: Mila Kunis and the children of other stars

Their little ones! Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon and other stars from “That ’70s Show” have given a glimpse into their families off the screen. After playing lovers in the hit sitcom from 1998 to 2006, Kunis and Ashton Kutcher remained close friends. In 2012, the two began dating despite their split from Macaulay Culkin (…)

Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon, Daniel Masterson, Debra Jo Rupp And Kurt Wood Smith rounded out the ensemble, and Valderrama praised each of them individually in his memoir. He gushed about his “beautiful connection” with 44-year-old Prepon, who became “like a sister,” as did 41-year-old Kunis. The entire cast became like a close-knit family.

“The closer we got in real life and chatted between takes, the more fun the show seemed to become. … We laughed. We joked. We played pranks on each other. … As co-stars, we became each other’s biggest fans,” Valderrama wrote.

Despite their love for each other – and their characters – Valderrama and his colleagues knew the series would have to end at some point. “We couldn’t stay teenagers forever,” he acknowledged, noting that as the seasons went on, “they all got tired.”

When the crew met one last time in 2006 to film the final episode, tears flowed. Valderrama and his co-stars, however, were not ready to say goodbye. “For the next ten days in a row, we all went to lunch together,” he wrote, adding that he would be “forever grateful” for The wild seventies catapulted his career.

An American Story: Everyone is Invited is available now.