Danny Masterson

Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) is an American actor.

In the early 1990s, Masterson had a role in Beethoven's 2nd, and starred as Justin in Cybill.

After starring in the third and fourth seasons of Cybill, Masterson decided he wanted to move on and audition for a show originally titled Teenage Wasteland, which later was changed to That '70s Show.

The original casting director for That '70s Show, Debby Romano, resisted Masterson's audition because he was slightly older than the rest of the cast, but ultimately allowed him to audition.

She stated, "he came in and he was just so funny" and that he redefined where the role was going and made the role of Steven Hyde the "tough, funny guy."

Masterson starred in all eight seasons of That '70s Show.

His role on That '70s Show launched Masterson's career, allowing him to pursue other endeavors between tapings.

After the show concluded, Masterson acted in several movies and made guest appearances on television shows including Punk'd and MADtv.

Masterson began DJing at Los Angeles night clubs in 1997 as a hobby, under the name DJ Donkey Punch, but it soon became a side business.

He played Steven Hyde in That '70s Show (1998–2006), Milo Foster in Men at Work (2012–2014), and Jameson "Rooster" Bennett in The Ranch (2016–2018).

In May 2023, Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003.

A third count of rape resulted in a hung jury.

In September 2023, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

Masterson is a Scientologist, as were his victims at the time of the assaults.

The Church of Scientology's attempts to silence the victims and subsequent interference resulted in a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice.

Masterson was born on Long Island, New York, to Carol and Peter Masterson.

He grew up in Albertson, Garden City, and East Williston on Long Island.

Masterson has a brother, actor Christopher Masterson, who played Francis on Malcolm in the Middle.

Their maternal half-siblings, Jordan Masterson and Alanna Masterson, are also actors.

He also has a paternal half-brother, Will Masterson.

Starting at age four, Masterson worked as a child model and was featured in magazine articles as well as television commercials beginning at age five.

He starred in musicals at the age of eight and began acting as well.

Masterson's singing voice "disappeared" by his teenage years.

By the age of 16, he had appeared in over 100 commercials, including ones for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Hardee's, Hostess, Tang, and Clearasil.

Along with 70's costars Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama, he co-hosted the Fox TV special Woodstock 1999.

He appeared as part of a poker team, the Unabombers, in the 2005 GSN series The James Woods Gang vs. The Unabombers.

He had hosted celebrity poker events, such as the Phat Farm Stuff Casino Weekend Poker Tournament, in which he won the tournament.

He had a role in the 2008 comedy Yes Man.

Masterson starred with his real-life future wife, Bijou Phillips, in the 2009 drama The Bridge to Nowhere.

He portrayed Jerry Rubin in the 2010 movie, The Chicago 8.

After Donkey Punch, he changed his name to DJ Donkey Pizzle, then DJ Mom Jeans by 2010.

Masterson is a self-described "rock and hip hop fanatic", and is also a fan of indie, electro, and funk music, all of which he primarily DJed with.

For a time, Masterson owned a lounge and bar in Park City, Utah, called Downstairs.

In 2011, Masterson guest-starred as James Roland in USA Network's White Collar (episode "Where There's A Will").

In 2012, the sitcom Men at Work premiered on TBS, co-starring Masterson, Michael Cassidy, James Lesure, and Adam Busch.

In 2012, Masterson appeared in the film Alter Egos, directed by Jordan Galland.

Masterson starred alongside Sam Elliott, Ashton Kutcher, and Elisha Cuthbert in the Netflix comedy series The Ranch from 2016 to 2018.

His character was written out of the series in the middle of filming the third 20-episode season because of the rape and assault allegations against him.

The allegations and the resulting trial also caused Masterson to be the only surviving main or supporting cast member of That '70s Show not to be invited back to the sequel series That '90s Show, and his character of Steven Hyde was simply not mentioned in the new series.

His former castmate on That '70s Show and a fellow Scientologist, Laura Prepon, had left the Church by the time of the allegations.