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Actor Mace Coronel has a lot to live up to in the wake of That ’70s Show. He plays Jay Kelso, son of Ashton Kutcher’s Michael Kelso, in the new Netflix sitcom That 90s Show. It’s a role that was difficult to cast, but Coronel has since proved himself as the right choice for the difficult job: echoing Kutcher’s loveable dullard without simply mimicking that performance.

The role called for a young actor. Hollywood usually casts older, but in Coronel, they found the right guy for the job — while he was still in high school.

Mace Coronel has a big comedic burden to carry as Jay Kelso

mace coronel ashton kutcher
(L to R) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso, Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso in episode 101 of That ‘90s Show. | Netflix

The 18-year-old actor that took on the Kelso mantle already has some work under his belt, POPSUGAR reports. He spent several years as a young Nickelodeon star on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn. He even went through the trial by fire that tests many actors: a run on the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful.

If you can make it through a demanding daytime schedule, you can probably handle any set Hollywood can throw at you. Taking on a legacy revival series like That ’90s Show is a different kind of challenge, though. As Jay, the young actor can’t simply make the character his own. He has to find touches that recall Kutcher’s character on the old show.

He earned the role by diving into the original material. “I studied both of my parents in the show,” the former Nick star told POPSUGAR. “Biologically, we tend to adopt slight characteristics and mannerisms from our parents. So it was important for me to be able to apply that science into the character by studying.”

Mace Coronel found out was auditioning for a Kelso in school

Coronel landed the role with his intensive research and dedication to his craft. But he made it past that first audition without even knowing which character he would be playing, according to BuzzFeed. His strong resemblance to both Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart, Jay’s mom in That ’90s Show) caught the eyes of the producers.

“I asked casting if I could give him a call at his school’s lunchtime and just slip the information to him that he was playing Ashton’s son,” creator Gregg Mettler revealed. “He did not know before then. It was confidential. Then, in his chemistry read, he did this thing where he dropped a VHS case and then picked it up real quick and popped back into frame. It was so Ashton as Kelso.”

Will ‘That 90s Show’ live up to the original?

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That ’90s Show is unabashedly a legacy show. Alongside the younger Kelso, there’s Lea Forman, daughter of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti. Played by 15-year-old actor Callie Haverda, she’s the de facto lead of the new show. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, on that front.

According to Netflix, much of the rest of the new cast are not legacy characters. There’s Lea’s next-door neighbor Gwen Runck (Ashley Aufderheide). Maxwell Acee Donovan plays Gwen’s brother, Nate Runck. Sam Morelos plays Nikki Reyn, Nate’s girlfriend. And Reyn Doi plays Ozzie.

This is the main cast, with most of the stars from the original show in recurring or guest roles. All, that is, except for series regulars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, who play Kitty and Red Forman. The show takes place in the same Wisconsin home as the original series, after all.

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