Topher Grace's mission to reinvent himself takes a quantum leap with Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

Five years ago, Topher Grace looked at his bank account, and he was actually satisfied with the number he saw.

After spending eight years on "That '70s Show" and starring in commercial films such as "Spider-Man 3" and "Valentine's Day," he'd built up a solid chunk of change. Plus, he'd recently met the woman he was going to marry, and he was feeling more comfortable in his skin - like he didn't have to impress anyone anymore. So he decided to set up a call with his agents and managers.

"I really don't want to do anything that's not with an auteur filmmaker," he told his team. "Or at the very least, a filmmaker that I'm really, really excited about."

Their response was muted, Grace recalled.

"Cool! Let's just do one more for money," he said they suggested. "You know, one for them, one for us?"

"No," the actor said. "I'm really done doing that."

But it