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Starring on That ’70s Show as Red Forman was one of the highlights of Kurtwood Smith’s decorated acting career for both professional and personal reasons. The now 79-year-old actor has told the press that the character of Red really hit home for him as the character always reminded him of his stepfather. Sadly, Smith’s stepdad passed away right before the first season of That ’70s Show aired. 

Debra Jo Rupp, who played opposite Smith as Red’s wife, Kitty, also drew inspiration for her character through her own parental figures stating that Kitty was very much her mother. While Rupp and Smith had a natural rapport on the show, Rupp has recently revealed that she was quite nervous around Smith on the first season of That ’70s Show. Here’s why. 

What did Kurtwood Smith do before ‘That ’70s Show’? 

While Smith has publicly stated that working on That ’70s Show was the highlight of his career, the actor has a decorated filmography. Interestingly, Smith almost missed out on playing Red Forman altogether. According to IMDb, the original choice to play Red was Chuck Norris. However, Norris was unable to commit to the series as he was in the process of filming for Walker, Texas Ranger. 

Smith graduated from Stanford University in 1969 with an MFA. However, he didn’t fully jump into his acting career until the 1980s. In 1987, Kurtwood starred in the action film RoboCop as Clarence Boddicker. The following year, Smith played the role of Robert Griggs in the 1988 film Rambo III. In addition to these major roles, Smith also made appearances in a number of science fiction films and television shows like Lou Grant, Star Trek, and The X-Files.  

Why was Debra Jo Rupp nervous around Kurtwood Smith? 

As fans will remember, Smith starred alongside Debra Jo Rupp in That ’70s Show, where Rupp played Red’s wife, Kitty Forman. While the duo built a strong friendship after playing Red and Kitty for eight seasons, Rupp was actually quite “nervous” around Smith during their first season of filming. 

During a recent promo interview with Entertainment Weekly for the spinoff That ’90s Show, Rupp said, “Red terrified me because I knew he was RoboCop.” While Smith chuckled at Rupp’s revelation, she went on to say that she was very nice to Smith at the beginning of filming because of this. 

According to IMDb, Smith has also been quoted as saying, “I love playing villains. When you’re a bad guy, you get to do many really nasty things. It’s a lot of fun.” This mentality may have contributed to Rupp’s initial “fears” around Smith too. 

‘That ’70s Show’ was Kurtwood Smith’s first role in comedy 

Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama pose in front of a yellow backdrop with the Netflix logo.
Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama attend a screening of “That ’90s Show”I Monica Schipper/Getty Images
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During this interview with Entertainment Weekly, Smith also discussed how working on That ’70s Show was his first real role in comedy. Both Rupp and Smith highlighted how fun it was to work on the period piece because the writing was “so sharp and so good.” Smith went on to say that he was “a little bit concerned about how I was going to come off comedically.” 

At Smith’s revelation about his initial nerves, Rupp announced that she was shocked because he always came off so confidently. Smith went on to discuss how his nerves would quickly subside as soon as he got a couple of good laughs on set. 

Nearly two decades after the series finale of That ’70s Show, Rupp and Smith are back as the iconic duo of Kitty and Red on the new spinoff show That ’90s Show. The spinoff stars Callie Haverda as their granddaughter Leia Forman. The first season premiered on January 19, 2023, and can be viewed on Netflix.  

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