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Steven James Hyde III, known as Hyde by his friends, is a fictional character from the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, portrayed by Danny Masterson.^[1] He is Eric Forman's (Topher Grace) best friend and by the end of season one, his de facto adopted brother. Hyde represents the rebel adolescent of the seventies that was suspicious of government and corporations.

Character biography[link]

Hyde was abandoned by his mother, Edna (Katey Sagal), who only appeared in three episodes, two of which featured only her screaming voice calling from inside Hyde's house. His stepfather, Bud (Robert Hays), had left some years earlier. A half brother was mentioned once in a Season 8 episode, though not much is known about him.

Hyde's best friend, and later foster-brother, is the nice, geeky Eric Forman. The two share probably the closest friendship out of the group, shown by how they care and rely on one another and one anothers' advice. When Hyde's mother left town at the end of the first season, Eric tried to persuade his parents to do something about his best friend's living conditions and thus Hyde was invited to live with the Formans, which Hyde does from season one until the series' end. He is adopted into the Forman family, and lives in the basement of their house. Since there are no extra bedrooms, he sleeps in a small storage room on a cot. When Red decided to kick Hyde out after an arrest for possession of drugs, Eric attempts to come to his rescue.

Hyde found a job working at the Foto Hut with his burned-out hippie boss Leo (Tommy Chong). Hyde and Leo become good friends until Leo suddenly left town, because he remembered that he was only supposed to stay in Point Place for a short time, yet stayed for eight years, leaving his family behind. Ironically enough, during his tenure in the Foto Hut, he was the more responsible worker between himself and Leo, even telling his own boss off for not doing his job. Hyde and Leo's friendship resumed when Leo returned to the series near the end of Season 7. He gave the money he made to Red and Kitty to help them pay the bills. It is evidenced thus that Hyde has a sense of propriety and responsibility to rival that of his friend Eric's, yet is not proud of it as he is more accustomed to his stoner lifestyle.

Hyde developed a fairly close relationship with Eric's dad, Red Forman, who admired his toughness, lack of showing emotions, and traditional masculinity, a quality his son Eric lacks. Red became the closest Hyde has to a real father after he moved in with the Formans. Red does occasionally feel that Hyde can be a bad influence on Eric, particularly due to his frequent marijuana use, and briefly kicked him out when Hyde was arrested. However, he is often shown to have a deeper respect for Hyde over his own son and occasionally prefers Hyde over him (such as when he offered Hyde a job at his new muffler shop instead of Eric).

In the season 6 finale, Kitty discovered that Bud is not Hyde's real father. Subsequently, Hyde met his biological father, William Barnett (Tim Reid), who was black, making Hyde biracial. He later met his half-sister, Angie Barnett who dreamed of one day running her own store, but ended up working alongside Hyde in her father's store.

Hyde is highly critical of organized religion. He tells an Episcopalian girl that she believes in "the exact opposite of what [he] believe[s] in". Also, in "Holy Crap", he claims he doesn't go to church because it would make him a hypocrite, him believing that organized religions had corrupted the teachings of the likes of others like Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad. Despite the fact that Hyde mentions God (such as stating his hair was a gift from God in "Eric's Hot Cousin") he does not express any sort of organized religious affiliation. However, he is shown on several occasions to be reverent and somewhat religious when the time called for it.

In contrast to the sensitive New-Age men prevalent in the 1970s, Hyde is very traditionally masculine, much like Red Forman. He does not voice or show his emotions often (a notable exception being when he has to tell Jackie he cheated on her in season 5, and other occurrences throughout their relationship.) He does not worry about romantic relationships and women the way Kelso, Eric, and Fez do; he considers himself too "tough" and strong for that type of behavior. He generally acts as though he does not care for anyone, perhaps as a defensive mechanism; however, it is shown during the course of the series that he does care deeply about his friends and the Formans. Hyde seems to be against extracurricular activities, although he does mention that he plays baseball in school and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers. Hyde's other hobbies include music, hunting, hanging around, and he is also shown to have a talent in mechanics.

After Eric's departure to Africa, Hyde's conflicts were front and center in the series, mostly due to his relationship with Eric's parents (his foster parents) and his short marriage to Samantha. He experiences conflict with Kelso, who he punches for attempting to sleep with Jackie in Chicago. He also struggles to maintain civility with Jackie and manage his career. Later in the final season, Hyde receives a letter from his father (William Barnett) telling him that he is selling his chain of record stores. Hyde, angry at the vague letter, fears that he won't be able to continue the career he loves. Later, Barnett shows up to Hyde's record store to tell him that he sold every store except for the one in Point Place, and has granted sole ownership of the last remaining Grooves. Hyde ends the series as the owner and manager of his Grooves record store.

Relationships[link]

Early on in the series, he was rarely interested in getting into a serious relationship, and was very cynical about the idea, as portrayed in some of his quips such as "Dating is prostitution, only you don't always get what you pay for". However, as the series progressed, he enjoyed a number of relationships. It was mentioned that his only girlfriend ended up leaving him for his uncle, and when Hyde and Fez make fun of Kelso for being "whipped" by Jackie, Kelso points out that he is the only one "getting some".

Hyde's first love interest of the series was a proto-punk girl, Christie, who wanted him to move to New York City with her. He loses his virginity to her, but he ultimately decides to stay in Point Place, and she leaves for New York. The relationship lasted only one episode.

Before Eric and Donna (Laura Prepon) started to date, Eric and Hyde both had feelings for Donna. Hyde tried to win Donna to the point that even Fez began to mock him over his repeated failed attempts. At one point he attempts to kiss her, but she rejects him with a slap. In an early episode, she blows off a "study date" with Hyde at the library to go out with Eric for Valentine's Day. Hyde goes to talk to Donna while she is out with Eric and tells her how he feels about her. However, Donna doesn't understand him because she is drunk. Hyde gives up soon after, prompting the assumption that he was more infatuated with Donna and not in love with her, and they remain close friends.

In Season 5, he became paired with Jackie Burkhart. There is foreshadowing of their relationship throughout the series, most prominently at the Forman's Veteran's Day BBQ in Season 3, where Jackie's date Chip calls her a bitch behind her back. Hyde responds by knocking Chip out cold. Later that day, after talking to Mrs. Forman, Hyde takes Jackie out for their first date which leads to their first kiss. Hyde also took Jackie to his junior prom in the first season, and he is the one Jackie goes to for comfort when she and Kelso encounter problems in their relationship, prompting him to ask "Why does she always come to me?" Despite initially loathing Jackie for all that she represents (she is spoiled, shallow, and rich), he has his first real romantic relationship of the series with her.

Hyde and Jackie's relationship was a very typical 'opposites attract' set up. Hyde tells Eric that he simply ignores Jackie's constant complaining and bossiness and focuses on how "hot" she is instead, although he does become more mature and caring as their relationship progresses. They came together during the summer between Seasons 4 and 5 when they found themselves bored with watching The Price Is Right. The relationship gradually grows into a surprisingly strong one, considering their past conflicts. However, Jackie saw Kelso making out with Annette (the girl Kelso dated while he was in California ) and yelled get off my boyfriend. Hyde broke up with Jackie but it only lasted a episode they got back together in the end and went to the valentines dance. They also went through trouble when Hyde mistakenly perceives her to be cheating on him with Kelso. In response, he cheated on her. He sincerely apologizes, but Jackie ends the relationship. The separation is brief, however, and they get back together at the beginning of Season 6. They remain together until midway through Season 7, when Jackie becomes insecure about their relationship and asks Hyde if he can see a future with her. His response, "I don't know," breaks them up briefly, but they reconcile after only a few weeks apart. However, when Jackie is offered a job in Chicago, Hyde is once again forced to make a decision about a possible future together. Just when Jackie thinks Hyde will break up with her for good, Steven's made the decision to marry her. At that moment, he finds a note from Jackie that says she's left for Chicago, and Hyde is hurt and angry. In the very next episode, however, he decides to follow her and propose. In the middle of Hyde and Jackie's conversation, Kelso walks into the room in only a towel, carrying a bucket of ice and making a comment implying he and Jackie were about to have sex. Although Kelso frequently makes sexual comments to every female on the show, including Jackie and Donna, Hyde once again believes the two really were about to engage in sex, and drives off to Las Vegas.

In the last season, Hyde returned from Las Vegas after his confrontation with Jackie and Kelso. While he was in Vegas, he got drunk and married a stripper named Samantha. Although Jackie claims nothing happened between herself and Kelso in Chicago, Hyde chooses to stay in the marriage instead of annulling, ending his and Jackie's relationship. The marriage was bitter, as they were often seen screaming at each other, but it was hinted that they had an excellent sex life, and all the yelling was just a factor of it. In the middle of Season 8, Samantha's real husband showed up unexpectedly, and decided to take Samantha with him back to Vegas. Donna points out that since Samantha was already married when she attempted to marry Hyde, Hyde and Samantha were never legally married, making their marriage null and void. In the midst of the confusion, the two decided that it would be best for them to part ways, and Sam went back to Vegas. He had no significant other in the final episode.

Personality[link]

Hyde is a rebellious, wise-cracking boy with no respect for authority and often makes it his main priority to defy as many policies or rules as possible, and seems to take pride in his own disobedience. He is supremely insensitive and seldom feels compassion for others, and often will make a sarcastic remark rather than show sympathy for somebody who is suffering. It was revealed in the Halloween special that Hyde's reputation was first sabotaged in elementary school, when Eric Forman ruined another student's diorama and Hyde received the blame, and has since then maintained a reputation as a troublemaker and rebel. Although he rebels against school and other educational activities, he is generally smart, as in the episode " The Crunge " Hyde scores second lowest among the gang, but does better than Eric without textbooks and without applying himself. When other members of the gang need advice, Hyde is usually the only one who gives them real advice.

Appearance[link]

Hyde wears an afro and sideburns (or occasionally a mustache and/or beard), and his sunglasses, which he is almost always seen in, making him appear like Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. He regularly wears sports jeans, was once failed in PE for refusing to wear shorts, and also has many band t-shirts, which include: Santana, Judas Priest, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, KISS,mostly Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Ted Nugent, Boston, Rush, Aerosmith, John Lee Hooker, The Allman Brothers Band, Blue Öyster Cult, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and the Grateful Dead. Contrasting with his tough guy exterior, Hyde was once caught on videotape dancing to Frank Sinatra singing. Additionally, following his first breakup with Jackie, he happened to hear B. J. Thomas' "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" and became a fan of country music although the season 2 episode, Red's Last Day, a drunken Hyde is seen singing Redneck Mother by Jerry Jeff Walker. Hyde along with these many bands holds a passionate love of Led Zeppelin, the group he wears most frequently, and when once questioned by his father as to why he wears said shirts he replies, "If God didn't want me to wear them so much he wouldn't have made them rock so hard". He also noted that he likes to watch Little House on the Prairie, because it "reminds him of a simpler time." He dislikes the music of Pat Boone, Styx (although he did tap his foot to their music), ABBA, Andy Gibb, and Little River Band. In fact, he once even broke up with a girl because she liked the Little River Band.

Steven is known to drive a black 1967 Chevrolet El Camino that is referenced in several episodes. It was given to him by Leo in the episode Radio Daze.

He hates disco (even starting a disco burning bonfire in season 8); however, the real reason he hated disco was because of his lack of dance skills. However, Kitty taught him to dance (which led Bob to believing Kitty was having an affair with him) and later danced with Donna to it in one of the earlier seasons.

References[link]

Danny Masterson
Masterson at the Blender Sessions, Hard Rock Hotel, Chicago, 5 August 2007
Born	Daniel Peter Masterson (1976-03-13) March 13, 1976 (age 36) Albertson, New York, U.S.
Other names	DJ Mom Jeans, DJ Donkey Punch, Daniel P.
Occupation	Actor, disc jockey, businessman
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Bijou Phillips (2011–present)
Website
http://www.djmomjeans.com/

Daniel Peter "Danny" Masterson (born March 13, 1976) is an American actor and disc jockey best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Masterson was a child model from the age of four who was featured in magazine articles, as well as television commercials beginning at age five. Masterson was also involved in theater, and starred on Broadway musicals as a child at the age of eight, and began acting as well. His singing voice "disappeared" by the time he was a teenager. By the time he was sixteen, he had appeared in over one-hundred commercials,^[1][2] including ones for Swift Premium sausage, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes,^[3] Hardee's,^[4] Hostess, Tang,^[5] and Clearasil.^[6]

In the early 1990s, Masterson landed a role in Beethoven's 2nd. He also starred as Justin in Cybill and Jimmy Girvin in Roseanne. These roles launched a film career, including a minor role in the John Travolta film Face/Off. After starring in the third and fourth seasons of Cybill, Masterson decided he wanted to move on from Cybill and audition for a show originally titled Teenage Wasteland, which later was changed to That '70s Show.^[7] 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 that, "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".^[3]

Masterson appeared in all eight seasons of That '70s Show. His appearance on That '70s Show launched a breakthrough in Masterson's career, allowing him to pursue other endeavours between tapings. After the show concluded Masterson starred in several movies and made guest appearances on television shows including Punk'd and MADtv. Along with Kutcher and Valderrama, he co-hosted the Fox TV special Woodstock 1999. He had a part in the 2008 comedy Yes Man. Masterson stars with his real-life wife, Bijou Phillips, in the 2009 drama The Bridge to Nowhere.^[2][8] In 2011, Masterson guest starred as James Roland in USA Network's "White Collar" in the episode "Where There's A Will." Masterson will have a lead role in Spike's new television series, Playing With Guns.^{[citation needed]} Masterson portrayed the high-profile American social activist Jerry Rubin in the 2010 movie, The Chicago 8, written and directed by Pinchas Perry. The Chicago 8 is a film based on the actual Chicago Eight in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and explores the events around the trial. ^[9] It was filmed in September and October 2009.^[10] The film is based closely on the trial transcripts and most of the action takes place in the courtroom.^[11]

In 2012, the comedy series Men At Work premiered on TBS, co-starring Masterson and Michael Cassidy, James Lesure and Adam Busch.^[12] In 2012, Masterson will also appear in the film Alter Egos, directed by Jordan Galland.^[13]

Music[link]

Masterson began DJing in 1999 as a hobby, but it soon became a side business other than acting and owning several businesses.^[14] Masterson frequently DJs at Los Angeles night clubs under the name DJ Mom Jeans, formerly DJ Donkey Punch. He came up with the name DJ Mom Jeans from That '70s Show, because Mila Kunis and Laura Prepon had to wear mom jeans regularly and he would make fun of them.^[15] Masterson is a self-described "rock and hip hop fanatic",^[7] and is also a fan of indie, electro, and funk music, all of which he primarily DJ's with.^[4][16][17] He is a fan of 1970s rock music,^[7] and his favourite band is Pearl Jam.^[2] Some of his other favourites include Broken Social Scene, The Strokes, Tokyo Police Club, and Midlake. He played a 2-hour set at the 2008 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, played for the 2009 Lollapalooza, and for the 2010 Lollapalooza as well.^[18][19] Additionally, with local nightlife impresario Brent Bolthouse, he co-hosted a Monday night radio show titled Feel My Heat, on Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles for 6 years.^[16] The show was canceled in October 2008.

In 2009, Masterson planned to release an album of his music, but that album has not yet been released.^[17]

Other business ventures[link]

Masterson also owns or co-owns eleven restaurants.^[20] One is a Korean barbecue restaurant, Shin, located at 1600 Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. He is a co-owner both Dolce (located at 8284 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA), and Geisha House (located at 6633 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA), restaurants he founded with That '70s Show co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama, who are also his close friends.^[21] He also owns a boutique called Confederacy (located at 4661 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA) with longtime friend Ilaria Urbinati. Confederacy features quality selection of designer clothing for both men and women, accessories, beauty products, artwork and photography, in-store events, and a coffee shop.^[22][23][24] Masterson owns a lounge and bar in Park City, Utah called Downstairs, located at 625 Main Street. He often visits Park City to vacation and DJ at Downstairs.^[25][26]

Masterson still models occasionally, and he has been on the covers of many magazines, including Paper Magazine^[5] and YRB Magazine.^[27]

He is also a well-known poker enthusiast, stating "The most I've lost is a couple of grand and the most I've won is a lot more than that."^[28] He appeared as part of a poker team, the Unabombers, at a Poker Royale: James Woods vs. the Unabombers tournament on GSN.^[29] He has also hosted celebrity poker events, such as the Phat Farm Stuff Casino Weekend Poker Tournament, in which he won the tournament.^[30] Masterson, his brother Chris, and his That '70s Show costar Laura Prepon are all investors in Card Player magazine.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Masterson is a Scientologist.^[31] He started dating Bijou Phillips in 2005,^[32] they became engaged in 2009, and subsequently married on October 18, 2011.^[33]

Charity work[link]

Masterson has also been involved with the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, a controversial organization ^[34] with ties to the Church of Scientology.^[35] He also played in a charity softball game in New York's Central Park to help raise money for children in need of neurosurgery,^[36][37] designed guitars for a MusiCares fundraiser,^[38] and has performed in plays on stage for charities such as The Hollywood Police Activities League (a national youth development program for at-risk youth) as well.^[39][40] He has also played on the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational for the charity Chrysalis, with all proceeds going to said charity.^[41] He has also played the World Series of Poker's Ante up for Africa event.^[42]

Filmography[link]

Music videos[link]

Eduardo Fresco feat. Clayton Vice – The Way I Fiesta^[46]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Danny Masterson at the Internet Movie Database