Top 20 Actors You Forgot Were on That '70s Show

#20: Eliza Dushku

Breaking into the industry with her role as Faith in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spin-off show, “Angel,” Dushku waltzed into a one-off role in “That ‘70s Show,” instantly becoming Donna’s enemy. Arriving in season seven, “The Dollhouse” star played Sarah, or to use her radio name, “Sizzling Sarah.” Hired as a DJ at the same radio station that Donna worked at, Sarah quickly attracted attention from Donna’s friends. Yet to make it worse, she also successfully conspired to get her fired. However, after a plan to trick Sarah into playing George Carlin's monologue “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” live on air, the new employee is quickly unemployed, giving Donna her job back.

#19: Gloria Gaynor

In 1978, Gaynor morphed into a disco legend after she released the timeless hit, “I Will Survive.” So, considering “That ‘70s Show” is set during the same time period, as the name suggests, having the icon involved made perfect sense. In the series’ debut season, Gaynor played Mrs. Clark, the music teacher at Point Place High School. With the episode revolving around prom and Fez being turned down for a dance with a teacher, Gaynor belts out her 1978 hit to turn his frown upside down. It works well, considering the duo takes up the dance floor. Interestingly, the episode “Prom Night” was set in 1977. So, considering this was Mrs. Clark’s last appearance, she probably became Gaynor afterwards.

#18: Mary Tyler Moore

A multi-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner, as well as being nominated for an Oscar, Moore is acting royalty. To further add to her legacy, she was also the star of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which has been highly praised for its feminism. So, when Moore took a recurring role on “That ‘70s Show” as Christine St. George, it was a massive coup for the producers. The character was the lead of the talk show “What's Up Wisconsin,” who hired Jackie. However, she soon discovered that Christine wasn’t as lovely as she was on screen and had a massive ego. Moore’s appearances in three episodes as Christine would be one of her last roles before passing away in 2017.

#17: Brooke Shields

In season six, Jackie’s mother, Pam, returned to the fold after running away to Mexico following cheating on her daughter’s father. However, rather than focus solely on building a relationship with her child, Pam began dating Donna’s dad, Bob, causing a confusing mess for both kids. Well, Shields nailed the performance as the bubbly Pam. The actor and model, who made several sitcom appearances in the 1990s and 2000s with “Friends” and “Suddenly Susan,” played Pam in multiple episodes, stealing the spotlight each time. Yet Shields wasn’t the first to take on the role of Jackie’s mother. In season one, Pam was portrayed by Eve Plumb, who’s best known as Jan Brady in “The Brady Bunch.”

#16: Barry Williams & Christopher Knight

Since we name-dropped “The Brady Bunch” earlier, it's only right that we do so again. Two of the franchise’s stars were Williams and Knight, who played Greg and Peter Brady, respectively. However, when they arrived for a one-off role in season eight of “That ‘70s Show,” rather than playing siblings, they got much, much closer. After all, the duo plays a gay couple, Jeff and Josh, who become neighbors of the Foremans. As well as holding hands, the couple also shared a kiss on camera. When chatting to the TV Guide about the role, Knight complimented his former on-screen brother’s lip technique.

#15: James Avery

When Kelso joined the police academy in season six, there was no one better to show him the ropes than everyone’s favorite TV dad-slash-uncle, Avery. Best known for his work as Uncle Phil in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” the iconic performer took on the role of Officer Kennedy in “That ‘70s Show.” As a stern, stoic character that Avery excelled at, Kennedy was the perfect foil to Kelso’s wacky antics, bringing out a lot of comedy whenever the two were on screen together. While Avery was only in three episodes as Kelso’s stressed-out mentor, his influence on his protégé was instant, as he soon began wearing a cop mustache like Kennedy’s.

#14: Billy Dee Williams

Making his screen acting debut in 1959, Williams has done it all, including popping up for a season six episode of “That ‘70s Show.” Considering Eric is a big fan of “Star Wars,” you’d think Williams as Pastor Dan would set off some alarm bells as he portrayed Lando Calrissian in the franchise, but not really. Eric and Donna went to see Dan at the church for counselling when the couple began experiencing relationship issues. During it, Eric and Dan gush over their love of “Star Wars,” which drove Donna nuts. However, it gets worse when Donna and Eric lie and claim they’d never been intimate when they recently had a pregnancy scare, causing the duo to be publicly shamed for misleading the pastor.

#13: Melissa Joan Hart

Playing the title role in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” Hart was a massive name in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Yet at the height of her fame, she guest-starred in “That ‘70s Show” as Mary in season two. She was involved in a double date with Fez and Hyde. Mary was originally set up with the latter. However, considering how problematic and criminal actor Danny Masterson turned out to be, the character thankfully moved towards Fez. Hart wasn’t the only “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” alumnus to appear in “That ‘70s Show.” Her former on-screen BFF, Lindsay Sloane, who played Valerie Birkhead in the magic show, popped up as Patty, another date participant, in the same episode as Hart and another later on.

#12: Justin Long

By the time “That ‘70s Show” reached its ending in 2006 with two final episodes, Long was already an established comedy and horror actor. After all, he was in 2004’s “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” and multiple “Jeepers Creepers” films. As such, it was a great idea to bring him in as Andrew. Playing Fez’s childhood friend from his mysterious home country, Andrew looks nothing like Fez and has a vastly different accent. However, this was comedically explained as the duo being from different sides of the island. Following Fez's breakup with Jackie, Andrew convinces his pal to return home. However, the plans change once again when Jackie gives Fez another chance.

#11: Bruce Willis

Considering how many cult classics and blockbusters Willis has starred in, it’s shocking he’s never won a major award for his film acting work. In fact, he won a single Golden Globe for his work in the comedy-drama TV show, “Moonlighting.” As such, for season eight of “That ‘70s Show,” the action legend went back to his award-winning roots with a guest role as Vic, who was head of security at Chicago’s Playboy Club that Kelso wanted to work at. The actor was actually convinced to take the role due to his friendship with Kelso performer Ashton Kutcher, who also married his ex-wife, Demi Moore. Reportedly, Willis donated his appearance fee to the American Red Cross to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

#10: Alyson Hannigan

While you’d be hard pressed to describe Alyson Hannigan as a full on household name, the comedic actress has snuck and sneaked her way into a handful of iconic films and TV shows over the years. From “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the “American Pie” film series, to her career defining run as Lily Aldrin on “How I Met Your Mother”. With so many memorable roles under her belt it can be easy to forget that she had a two-episode stint on “That '70s Show” back in 2004. Hannigan played Suzy Simpson, Kelso’s police academy friend that Fez develops a crush on.

#9: Jenna Fischer

Few actors achieve mainstream success overnight. For example, it took Jenna Fischer seven years before she landed the role in a certain iconic workplace sitcom. Along the way Fischer scored bit parts in a number of different films and TV shows, including “That '70s Show”. The actress popped up in the season seven episode “Don’t Lie to Me” and played Stacey Wanamaker; a character whose name feels a touch outdated and more than a little sexist. Oh well, that’s all behind her now!

#8: Jessica Simpson

Season five of “That '70s Show” kicked off with Kelso and Donna living in California, after the two ran off at the end of the previous season. It was during his time in the Golden State that Kelso met and began to date Annette, who was played by Jessica Simpson. At the time Simpson was one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, so her three-episode arc was less of a career stepping stone and more of an attempt by the show’s producers to cash in on her popularity. Be that as it may, her portrayal of the air-headed Annette was hilarious and led to more film and TV work for Simpson.

#7: Luke Wilson

Luke Wilson was hardly a household name the first time he appeared on “That '70s Show”. However, when he made his final appearance in 2005, he’d found mainstream success thanks to roles in “Old School” and the “Charlie’s Angels” and “Legally Blond” film franchises. As such, it can be easy to forget that he played Kelso’s older brother Casey across six different episodes. Calm, cool and collected, Casey proved to be the perfect romantic foil to Eric, stealing Donna’s affection with his good looks and devil-may-care attitude. In the end Eric prevailed, but fans were still clamoring for more Casey Kelso.

#6: Lindsay Lohan

Let's face it, LiLo's public life, work, and image have gone through some changes since 2004, so it's easy for her “That '70s” appearance to have slipped through the cracks of our collective memories. Lohan played Danielle, a client that Fez attempts to seduce while working at a salon. But Danielle winds up attracting the attention of Kelso as well, and the two friends end up fighting over her. What was ironic about Fez chasing after Danielle was the fact that Lohan and Wilmer Valderrama were in a relationship at the time. Unfortunately, they broke up not long after working together.

#5: Betty White

Screen legend Betty White acted for over 80 years and in that time, she accrued over 100 acting credits. Among them is a well received recurring role on “That '70s Show”. White played Bea Sigurdson, Kitty Forman’s mother. In true Betty White fashion, the character’s sweet and innocent exterior is hiding a caustically sharp-tongued critic, whose quick wit and criticism often puts her at odds with her daughter. Due to the sheer volume of work that White has put in over the years, we doubt this role would land in her Top 10 performances of all time. As such, it’s easy to forget about her time on “That '70s Show”.

#4: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt only appeared in one episode of “That '70s Show”, but it was an attention getter. Joseph played Buddy Morgan, who by attempting to put the moves on Eric was revealed to be gay – despite owning a totally bitchin' Trans Am. When Buddy steals a date-making kiss, audiences were shocked – although less so than Eric himself. Even then it was clear the ultra-charismatic JGL was heading for mainstream success. But while he was originally meant to have a recurring role on the series, audiences were deemed reluctant to accept a gay character chasing Eric, resulting in Buddy and Gordon-Levitt being dropped from the show.

#3: Cole & Dylan Sprouse

These celebrity twins burst onto the scene with starring roles on the Disney channel series “The Suite Life of Zach & Cody” in 2005, having already established themselves with roles in films like “Big Daddy” and shows such as “Friends”. The identical twins often split screen time by playing the same character, but not on “That '70s Show”. The duo appeared together in season four, hanging out with Kelso after he gets separated from Hyde, Fez and Jackie while at an amusement park. Despite limited screen time the Sprouse boys still manage to coax a laugh out of viewers, teasing Kelso while he waits for his friends to find him.

#2: Amy Adams

Who’d have guessed that the girl who played Kat Peterson in the season two episode “Burning Down the House” would go on to become one of the greatest actors of her generation? Six-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams’ first television role was playing one of Jackie’s popular friends who hooks up with Hyde at a party. The guest spot was hardly a memorable one, but it ultimately proved to be the tip of the iceberg in regard to Adams’ acting ability. It wasn’t long after her appearance on “That '70s Show” that she was landing key roles in films such as “Catch Me If You Can” and “Junebug”.

#1: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

The People's Champion is currently one of the hottest movie stars on the planet today, but back in 1999 he was best known for the smell of his cooking. He managed to combine his two skills in this hilarious “That '70s Show” spot, wherein he plays Eric’s favorite wrestler and his own father, Rocky Johnson. Despite spending half his screen time wrestling little people and the other half complaining about it, Johnson manages to imbue his character with depth and personality, creating a likable persona that resonated with viewers. All these years later it’s still fun to look back on The Rock’s humble beginnings and in particular, this hilarious cameo!

If it was set to be remade, instead of the 1900s, would “That ‘70s Show” work in a different century, such as being called That 1770s Show? Let us know below!