WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Waterfront.
Topher Grace’s villainous role in Netflix’s family crime drama seriesThe Waterfrontis exactly what I’ve been waiting for after his memorable performance in a 2018 Oscar-winning movie. Grace doesn’t appear inThe Waterfront, which has held Netflix’s number one spotin English-language TV shows since its release on June 29, 2025, until roughly halfway through the series. When he arrives, however, his drug-supplier character, Grady, is truly unforgettable and unhinged. Like the Joker to Holt McCallany’s Batman, Grady is twisted, maniacal, and has a hell of a time wreaking havoc in thefictional coastal town of Havenport, North Carolina.
Grace, who is immortalized for playing Eric Foreman on the classic TV sitcomThat 70’s Show, has since taken on a variety of film and TV characters, although most of them have been relatively good guys. He appeared in a 2019 episode ofBlack Mirroras a tech guru named Billy Bauer in an antagonist-adjacent role, and recently appeared as the morally ambiguous mafia rat Winston inMel Gibson’s action thrillerFlight Risk.Overall, Grace has graced the screen with characters that are mostly likable and funny, but his roles inThe Waterfrontand Spike Lee’sBlacKkKlansmanallowed the actor to perform from the dark side.
The Waterfront Gives Topher Grace Another Fantastic Villain Role After Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman
Grace Has A Particular Knack For Playing Unhinged Yet Charismatic Villains
It may come as a surprise to some that Topher Grace is truly great as a villain. It was first established backin 2009’sSpider-Man 3,when Grace played Venom / Eddie Brockagainst Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He hasn’t played too many villains in big projects since that superhero blockbuster, but did play a formidable foe in Spike Lee’s Oscar-winningBlacKkKlansmanin 2018. Grace played David Duke, a real-life former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, in the Spike Lee movie. Grace gave a standout performance in that film among a stacked cast led by John David Washington, Adam Driver, and Alec Baldwin.
Now, with 2025’sThe Waterfront,Grace is back in his first villainous role since playing David Duke inBlacKkKlansman, which serves as a good reminder for those who enjoyed him inThe Waterfrontto check out that instant Spike Lee classic.
The Waterfrontmakes Grace’s Grady a clear antagonist from the second his character is introduced.
Although Grace made an appearance in 2024’s horror thrillerHeretic, he was not cast in a villainous role, butThe Waterfrontmakes him a clear antagonist from the second his character is introduced.Grace will also star as part of the ensemble cast ofHuntington, written and directed by John Patton Ford, in an unknown role alongside Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, and Ed Harris.
Topher Grace’s The Waterfront Villain Role Being Written Specifically For Him Makes It Even Better
The Waterfront Creator Wanted An Actor Who Could Play a Likable Villain
The Waterfrontcreator Kevin Williamson, known best as the writer behindScreamandDawson’s Creek,wrote the character of Grady with Topher Grace in mind.Williamson told Ash Crossan in an interview forScreen Rant, “I wanted someone who was so darn likable, and someone that we knew to be so darn cute and funny and winning in all those ways in which you don’t usually see a psychotic psychopath, a horrible person.” This is certainly a testament to how great Grace is in these kinds of villain roles in which the antagonist is unpredictable and zany and yet brutal and dangerous.
Williamson also dove into what type of villain he was looking for in Grady and how he knew Grace could match that energy. “I like when really, really, really nice, funny people do really evil things. He really plays the duality very well.” Unfortunately, Grace won’t be able to return forThe Waterfrontseason 2 if it happens, considering Grady’s fate. His performance should, however, continue to lead to more outstanding villain roles for him in future projects.
