The return of Ashton Kutcher, the star who succeeded in everything except being taken seriously as an actor

Almost anyone can name at least two romantic partners for Ashton Kutcher (Iowa, 44).

And with an average knowledge of matters of the heart, it is not difficult to add a couple more.

More complicated is to mention the name of four of his films.

Not so much to remember his promotional posters: in almost all of them he poses with a nice gesture next to some gorgeous actress who has certainly had a more interesting career than his.

This year Kutcher returns with Netflix's romantic comedy

Reese Witherspoon.

In addition, he has a notorious cameo in

the return of That

, the series that made him a star.

Not bad for an actor who in recent years has stayed away from the screens, but only from the cinema.

In mobile phones it is easy to obtain information about it on a daily basis.

Ashton Kutcher's film career seems stagnant, but not his celebrity status and his hyperactivity: investments, philanthropy, activism... although perhaps the kind of fame he enjoys is not what he imagined when he arrived in Hollywood .

The biochemist who cleaned a warehouse

His first interest was biochemical engineering.

To pay for his studies, he cleaned a grain store and sold his blood twice a week.

An ethic of effort that he inherited from his father, whom he began to help with his work at the age of ten.

But let no one think of a model student: Kutcher looked more like the hooligans in his early movies.

In his senior year, he broke into the school at dawn to steal, was arrested and was sentenced to three years of probation and 180 hours of community service.

He led a wild life.

"When I went out to a party I would wake up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before, I am surprised that I am still alive."

Ashton Kutcher third from left) in his runway modeling days.WWD (Penske Media via Getty Images)

His physique (almost six feet tall and the profile of a Greek statue) was going to take him down a path far removed from engineering.

“One night I was in a bar and a woman came up to me and asked if she wanted to be a model.

She didn't even know that this was a real job.

She thought that Fabio [famous for starring on the covers of romantic novels] was the only male model, ”she told the writer Elizabeth Weitzman.

“I entered a modeling contest, was selected as the Fresh Face of Iowa [young face of Iowa] and won a trip to New York.

Two days later I had a job and an agent.”

The first thing he was offered on television was a series about surfing

, which he very judiciously dismissed.

But he agreed to play the giddy Michael Kelso in

Show (1998-2006).

Very handsome, with charisma and an unquestionable comic vision, the cinema was eager to open its doors for him.

(2000) was the first major commercial success for him, naturally panned by critics for its gritty teen-comedy nature.

Ashton Kutcher and his former partner, January Jones. Jim Smeal (Ron Galella Collection via Getty)

Those were the hangover years of

Kutcher racked up box office successes thanks to thug teen comedies and other romantic ones like

(2003),

(2008) or

(2011).

Less lucky were his forays into drama such as

(2004) and his portrayal of Steve Jobs in

(2013), soon forgotten in favor of Michael Fassbender's (in 2015's

).

That despite his discreet success in the cinema, he was in charge of replacing Charlie Sheen in

between 2011 and 2015, at the time the most watched series in the United States, makes its media pull clear.

A legend of self-destruction, Sheen's shoes were difficult to fit, but Kutcher shares certain characteristics with him: his name is also associated with fun, brotherhoods, toga parties and

.

Thanks to the role of Walden Schmidt, he became the highest paid actor on television: $700,000 per episode.

The man behind the camera

Despite how quickly success came, he decided to cover his back in case the phone stopped ringing.

“I think it comes from the fact that my father always had various issues on his hands.

I like to have a plan B in case the series I'm starring in gets canceled or my movie career doesn't take off,” he told the

.

It didn't take long for him to set up his own production company and create the successful

format (in Spain it was broadcast under the name of

), an MTV phenomenon with a simple mechanic: celebrities involved in embarrassing situations and recorded with a hidden camera.

All the stars of the moment passed through the format, despite the fact that the jokes were sometimes heavy (Salma Hayek knows this, who with Penélope Cruz as bait had to deal with a huge floating feces in the bathroom of a restaurant) all celebrities wanted to appear in it.

Her ability to diversify is shown by her being one of the few stars who can grace both the cover of

and

.

In 2016, he was named “one of the best investors in technology” by the economic bible.

The venture capital firm A-Grade Investments that he captains together with his partner Guy Oseary, manager of U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers, at that time managed a portfolio valued at 250 million dollars, the result of a handful of movements as risky as they were effective.

They knew how to see the future of companies like Uber, Skype, Airbnb, Spotify, Pinterest or Shazam before anyone else.

Ashton Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis at the last Oscar gala, in March 2022.Kevin Mazur (WireImage,)

He always had something of a visionary.

She was the first celebrity to become a Twitter star and the first user to amass more than a million followers on the social network.

He was also one of the pioneers in discovering that the little bird network could be an oasis of possibilities and a minefield.

His first misstep came after he tweeted that September 11 was the happiest day of the year (he was referring to the start of the league, of course).

The second, criticizing the firing of Joe Paterno, legendary coach of the University of Pennsylvania football team, “How do you fire Jo Pa?

I find it in poor taste,” he tweeted.

What Kutcher did not know at the time of launching the tweet is that the coach had been struck down for covering up a case of child abuse in his locker room.

After retracting, he delegated to a communication agency.

“I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this tool.

I feel terrible about this mistake.

It will not happen again".

The case affected him especially: his philanthropic work is enormous and the foundation against the sexual abuse of children and the proliferation of child pornography founded with his first wife Demi Moore one of his cornerstones.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in 2003 in Los Angeles. Kevin Winter (Getty Images)

His courtship and subsequent marriage to Demi Moore made the delights of the tabloids.

Kutcher had already had relationships with other actresses such as January Jones, the star of

or his partner in

, the late Brittany Murphy.

But nothing had prepared her for the scrutiny his first marriage would be subjected to.

First because of the age difference (the press was full of the 16 years that separated them, a detail that only stands out when the youngest of the couple is a man) and then because of the enviable relationship that united him with Bruce Willis, husband of Moore and father of her three daughters.

biography

.

According to the actress, since they met at a friends dinner, the chemistry was immediate.

“When I met him I felt like a second chance.

I could go back in time and experience again what it was like to be young.”

The relationship ended when she found out through the tabloids that Kutcher was cheating on her.

They divorced after six years of marriage.

He also talked about the breakup.

“Right after I got divorced I went to the mountains by myself for a week,” he revealed on the

Armchair Expert

“I went without a computer or cell phones.

I was there alone so there was no one to talk to.

I only had a notebook, a pen, water and tea for a week.

The following year he began a relationship with actress Mila Kunis, his partner and partner on That '

They got married in 2015 and have two children.

As happened during his marriage to Moore, the actor has been involved with his wife in various charitable causes.

In March they raised more than $34 million to help Ukrainian refugees (Kunis is of Ukrainian origin) and pledged to donate the same amount themselves.

Ashton Kutcher with his twin brother Michael Kutcher, who was born after him with cerebral palsy.Adam Bettcher

His fatherhood has also opened his eyes to new and unexpected causes in which to invest his activism.

After the birth of her first child, she opened a debate about the lack of equal access to changing tables in restrooms by requesting through Change.org that the department stores Target and Costco provide universally accessible changing tables in their stores.

Kutcher has a twin brother who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Last year he talked about it in detail in the Paramount + space

He said that his mother did not know that she was pregnant with twins and it was a surprise for everyone when, five minutes after he was born weighing four kilos, Michael appeared, weighing only one kilo and 800 grams.

Despite doubts, the baby survived.

At the age of three, he was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy.

Today he is married and has three children and a life very different from his brother's.

Kutcher himself suffered a near-death experience.

He recently revealed it on the adventure show

In 2019, doctors diagnosed him with vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that affected his vision, hearing and sense of balance for a year.

That he is fully recovered is demonstrated by his accumulation of projects.

Perhaps we are at the moment when Ashton Kutcher can become, after 40, the Hollywood star that he never was.

It doesn't seem like he cares too much about that, though.

You can follow ICON on

surfers who want great criteria.

But he agreed to play the giddy Michael Kelso in ega eg e