Topher Grace stars at Tribeca Film Fest

Topher Grace stars at Tribeca Film Fest

Tribeca Film

Topher Grace stars with Jenna Fischer in 'The Giant Mechanical Man,' part of  the Tribeca Film Fest.

Topher Grace never intended to be an actor.

I didnt really know what I wanted to do, he says.

Ironic, since in his latest role, as a second-tier self-help guru in Lee Kirks The Giant Mechanical Man, Grace just cant seem to stop dishing out advice.

He plays Doug Duncan in the movie playing Wednesday at the Tribeca Film Festival. The charact er is a weirdly funny and self-assured motivational speaker who plays a foil to Jenna Fischers down-on-her-luck zoo employee.

The film is very small, and for lack of better words, real, and Doug comes in and plays the totally unreal element in there, he says.

I have a fascination with these people on TV late at night, he continues. I cant imagine anyone sitting down and thinking that they can tell you how they think you can lead a better life.

Its hard enough trying to figure out your own life. But to tell other people how to live their lives? Thats just presumptuous.

Grace got his big break after spraining his ankle in college in L.A.

I didnt get to play tennis that spring so I did a play instead, because all the girls did the play, he says. The parents of a girl who worked on set scouted him and asked him to try out for a sitcom.

Graces career was then born, as gawky teen Eric Foreman on Foxs long-running That 70s Show.

< p> In Mechanical Man, which follows the slipshod lives of two thirtysomethings Janice and Tim (Fischer and Chris Messina), Grace dons many an ugly sweater and a stringy-haired wig to play the wanna-be life coach and Lothario with whom Janices sister tries to set her up.

Messina plays a lonely street performer who wins over Janices heart.

It was great getting to play the bad guy, Grace says. Theres nothing I could do that would be wrong. As the main character, youve got to kind of make sure that if things are getting too weird, you can jump borders. But theres no borders when youre playing a guy like Doug Duncan.

The idea of isolation is a common theme in Graces work of late. The actor recently made the move back east from his residence in sunny California for a leading role in an Off-Broadway show Lonely, Im Not.

In New York, what Ive learned is that its a much more connected city than Los Angeles, he says. Youre more connected with the actors , the director and the writer in talking about how youre all going to shape the final product.

Graces penchant for trying different parts has led him to memorable turns as Eddie Brock/Venom in the Spider-Man series, as a prep school drug abuser in Traffic, and as a nice guy turned psycho killer in 2010s campy Predators.

I would be richer if I had stuck with just one kind of role to play, Grace jokes, adding that he wants to learn a bit from every role. But I want to have a passport to everywhere, actors wanderlust or whatever you call it.

YOU SHOULD KNOW :

The film screens Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 9. More info at tribecafilm.com.

jchen@nydailynews.com