Danny Masterson

Danny Masterson is an American actor best known for playing Steven Hyde on the sitcom *That ’70s Show*. Born on March 13, 1976, in New York, he began working as a child actor before becoming a regular presence on television. His film appearances before *That ’70s Show* included *Beethoven’s 2nd* (1993) and John Woo’s action film *Face/Off* (1997).

*That ’70s Show* premiered on Fox in 1998 and ran for eight seasons, ending in 2006. Set largely in fictional Point Place, Wisconsin, during the late 1970s, the series followed a group of teenagers who often gathered in Eric Forman’s basement. Masterson’s character, Hyde, was the group’s skeptical, rebellious friend. He appeared alongside Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ashton Kutcher, whose character, Michael Kelso, frequently clashed with Hyde. The role remains Masterson’s most widely recognized screen work.

After the series ended, Masterson appeared in films including the 2008 comedy *Yes Man*. He returned to a leading television role in *Men at Work*, a TBS sitcom that aired from 2012 to 2014. He played Milo Foster, a magazine employee navigating work and relationships with his friends and colleagues.

Masterson later reunited with Kutcher in the Netflix comedy *The Ranch*, which premiered in 2016. Kutcher played Colt Bennett, a former football player who returned to his family’s Colorado ranch; Masterson played Colt’s older brother, Jameson “Rooster” Bennett. The cast also included Sam Elliott as their father, Beau. Netflix announced in December 2017 that Masterson had been fired from the series following rape allegations. His character’s departure was addressed in episodes released in 2018.

The allegations led to criminal proceedings in Los Angeles. Masterson’s first trial ended in a mistrial in November 2022 after the jury could not reach verdicts. At a retrial in May 2023, a jury convicted him of raping two women in separate incidents in 2003; jurors did not reach a verdict on a charge involving a third woman. In September 2023, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Masterson has denied the allegations.

His career is therefore marked by two distinct, verifiable developments: a long run as a central cast member of a successful network sitcom, followed years later by convictions for serious crimes. His work on *That ’70s Show* remains available to audiences, while his dismissal from *The Ranch* and subsequent sentence fundamentally changed the course of his public life.