Valderrama: Fame is a mirage

Wilmer Valderrama’s “heart goes out” to misguided Hollywood stars.

The actor was still a teenager when he landed his first major role playing Fez on That ‘70s Show, which ran in the US from 1998 to 2006.

Nearly a decade since the final episode, he’s still landing major roles. But Wilmer insists he can see how easy it is for young celebrities to lose their way.

“It’s hard to comprehend what it’s like to get success that early,” he said on Wednesday’s episode of US chat show The Talk. “My heart goes out to every young person out there who’s just a little misguided with the mirage that they believe is real.”

Wilmer credits his fellow castmembers, including Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, with keeping him on the right path.

The actors were virtually unknowns when they landed the hit series, and kept each other in check.

“Really we were all we had. When we came to Hollywood we were the young kids in town… so we were kind of alone,” he explained.

“No one did drugs no one did anything reckless. If anyone said anything kind of obnoxious we would [backhand them],” Wilmer mused.

The actor also says his family would never have let him stray. The Colombian and Venezuelan star got a hard time from his friends for living at home into early adulthood but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“They used to joke around about it a lot because I didn’t move out until I was 23 years old. I came from a different culture here you don’t leave home until [you’re married] pretty much,” he laughed, adding of his mother, who still lives nearby: “She still yells at me for not picking up the socks.”