LOS ANGELES – Wilmer Valderrama vowed to “never let my family down” the night he won his breakthrough role as foreign exchange student Fez on “That ’70s Show.”
“I have been given the chance to uplift us all, so I’m not going to waste this great opportunity. Every performance I give will be the absolute best that anyone has ever seen. ” he wrote in his memoir, “An American Story: Everyone’s Invited.”
“Everyone’s Invited”, which was released last month, depicts the journey of a Venezuelan immigrant family to the United States and a young boy’s dream of helping his family while making his dream of becoming an actor a reality.
Valderrama, 44, said he has always felt a sense of urgency to stay true to his teenage vows and provide his family with a “happier life.”
“I grew up in Venezuela, so I had a front row seat to understanding how everything could happen. So I’m just grateful. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let my guard down,” the actor said. cum producer said.
Valderrama says she never intended to publish a memoir about her upbringing or career. The story revolved around his work with the United Service Organization (USO), which provided entertainment to military personnel away from home.
“I started realizing, ‘Oh my God, I have this idea of being married and[of service]in every aspect of my life.’ And you know, my team immediately said, I was like, “Hey, this is a memoir,”’ he said.
It was released during Hispanic Heritage Month and an election year, Balderrama said, and the timing was “coincidental.” He wanted to use this memoir as a way to remind the larger Latino community in the United States that they own their stories and contributions.
“I think our story as a community is very powerful, and we have to keep remembering that we belong,” he said.
Throughout the book, Valderrama is careful to discuss his close relationships with the show’s cast members in the ’70s, avoiding any mention of scandal. He did not mention the scandal involving co-star Danny Masterson, who was convicted of two counts of rape in 2023 and is serving a 30-year sentence. Valderrama also avoids stories that have made him the subject of tabloid headlines. This includes high-profile relationships with actors Demi Lovato and Lindsay Lohan.
When asked why she chose not to discuss her past relationships, Valderrama said that the theme of service was her focus when writing the book.
“This book is the story of my family, my mother and my father. I spent many years traveling with the USO. All these stories, my brothers and sisters in uniform, are the stories of my family, my mother and my father. That was the subject of this book.”
The only romantic relationship mentioned in the book is with his current fiancée, Amanda Pacheco.
Valderrama and Pacheco both have daughters, and Valderrama hopes that one day her daughter won’t have to worry about the lack of Latinos in Hollywood.
“I certainly hope that she can understand the fight that most of us had to have to actually open the doors to make a lot of these things possible,” he said. Ta.
His vow to his family is also the vow he made to his cultural community. It’s about introducing their accomplishments to an audience that may not interact with Latinos on a daily basis.
“I hope this book sparks a lot of conversations and helps us remember how close we really are to each other’s interests and how far we’ve been pushed away from each other,” Balderrama said. spoke.
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