‘That ’90s Show’: Wilmer Valderrama Didn’t Do Fez’s Voice for More Than 15 Years

That ’90s Show debuted in 2023, with fans of all ages gravitating to the funny, heartfelt show. The Netflix series is a sequel to That ’70s Show, and while the creative team brought in a brand-new cast of young performers in leading roles, many of the iconic characters from That ’70s Show make appearances in the show. Among them is Wilmer Valderrama, reprising his role as Fez, the foreign exchange student who became so beloved in That ’70s Show. While Valderrama stated for years that he had no real interest in ever playing Fez again, when the moment came, he stepped back into Fez’s shoes — even bringing back the iconic character’s voice.

Wilmer Valderrama rose to fame as Fez in ‘That ’70s Show’

Fez was one of the most popular characters in That ’70s Show, a seemingly innocent foreign exchange student with big dreams of success in America. Valderrama’s work as Fez helped to make the show a success — and the young actor, in turn, went on to become one of pop culture’s “it” men of the early 2000s, dating a bevy of famous women and regularly making headlines.

When That ’70s Show went off the air in 2006, many fans wondered whether Valderrama would ever bring back Fez in some capacity. For years, however, the actor claimed that he wasn’t especially interested in reprising his role, noting that he preferred to focus on other projects. In 2016, the actor told People Magazine point blank: “Fez will never happen again.”

What did Wilmer Valderrama say about bringing back the iconic Fez voice?

Clearly, Valderrama was just waiting for the right moment to bring Fez out of retirement, and That ’90s Show gave him that opportunity. That ’90s Show writer Bonnie Turner noted that he was eager to sign on for the role. According to BuzzFeed, Turner said, “When we called Wilmer to see if he would come back and do Fez, and if he had any interest, he said, ‘When do you want me?’ And then he said, ‘I haven’t done the voice since ‘That ’70s Show.’ I don’t make that sound. People ask me to do it and I won’t do it.”

Turner recalled that Valderrama told her, “I love Fez. Fez is dear to me.’ And I told him I understood that and it meant a lot that he wanted to come back and do it. Then Wilmer said, ‘Yes, Mrs. Bonnie,’ in the Fez voice. We died laughing.”

Will Wilmer Valderrama be back for Season 2 of ‘That ’90s Show’?

While Fez’s role in That ’90s Show isn’t a major one, his presence is felt throughout the entirety of the first season. And with a second season of the show on the way, could Valderrama reprise his role?

For now, however, there’s not much information about the cast for the upcoming second season. According to Collider, all of the main cast members of That ’90s Show are expected to reprise their roles, but it isn’t clear whether the That ’70s Show crew will be brought back for more scenes.

The determining factor will likely be related to the actors’ availability — and with Valderrama busy with NCIS and the Mission Impossible franchise, he might not have much time to shoot new scenes for That ’90s Show. In the meantime, fans can binge-watch the first season of That ’90s Show, which is now streaming on Netflix.