Wilmer Valderrama on The Dry Land, the Unexpected Reward of That 70's Show, and His New Tom Hanks Film

Wilmer Valderrama spent almost a decade of his life hitting precise comic beats on That 70's Show, but in Ryan Piers Williams' returning-soldier drama The Dry Land, he's a revelation as an easy, unaffected actor. The role was an especially personal one for the 30-year-old, who's spent years visiting troops as part of the USO, where That 70's Show is an unexpected phenomenon. He told Movieline all about it, and dropped a little bit of information about his hush-hush new film with Tom Hanks as well.

How did you get involved with The Dry Land? Did you already know your costar, America Ferrera?

America and I have been friends for many years, so it was a fun coincidence that she was a part of this film. I've been traveling around the world to nine countries -- including Iraq and Afghanistan -- visiting the troops, and I had this thing where I wanted to play a soldier. I've met thousands of soldiers and heard hundreds of stories, and it made me excited to find the right role and the right vehicle. I talked to my working team and I started reading a lot of scripts, and to my disappointment, every script had a subliminal political agenda. Every script had a wink about who made the mistake [of getting into the war] and who didn't, and that was really frustrating for me because we're already over there. Why beat a dead horse? That's why these movies are hard to make right now, because everyone assumes they already know what that movie is about.

Considering that I had so much appreciation for our men and women over there and I'm so emotionally invested in them, I thought, "Let me find the right vehicle that could be an anthem to them." As I was reading scripts, I found one called American Tragedy -- now it's called The Dry Land -- and I thought, "Finally, here's a story about the human behind the soldier." It was very authentic and real -- I know how these soldiers talk, and I know what post-traumatic stress disorder is like.

The movie takes place wholly after your characters have returned from the war. Did you give a lot of thought to what they were like before they were changed men?

We did. Ryan O'Nan and Ryan Williams and I sat down and filled in all the subtext of what kind of crazy things they might have gotten up to. Also, we were able to go and train with the National Guard in a five-Humvee convoy and put on the entire uniform from top to bottom. We got up at five in the morning with everyone and went and did the PT. We actually put ourselves in the exact same formation as when our characters get hit in the movie, so while we were training, I was able to sit where my character would be sitting and have a simulated attack. That, man...it couldn't be more real. It didn't matter what was hitting our vehicle, whether it was a tennis ball or an RPG, I truly felt protective over Ryan and our director. That dynamic is important -- you watch it and you understand that these two dudes were knuckleheads together at one point.

How did you get involved with the USO to begin with?

That's a funny question. You know, I've gotten to travel all over the United States, and sometimes you stop in Texas, and whatever airport I stopped at, I was encountered by soldiers. I'd be walking around the terminal and soldiers would come up to me and say, "Hey man. Just wanted to say I appreciate you making me laugh. I just came back from a tour in Iraq and we had DVDs of That 70's Show, and that stuff is priceless to us. We trade the DVDs over there! So just thank you for making us laugh." And I would be like, "No, man, come on! Thank you guys, what you guys do is insane and amazing."

These stories would reoccur more and more, and at one point, I basically said, "If That 70's Show is really so popular among the servicemembers, it'd be funny to go freak them out and show up in person. It'd be kind of rad, you know?"

Did they treat you like a rock star?

Bro! It was awesome. I didn't know they were so passionate about That 70's Show -- apparently, it's the biggest show that the armed services watch. So I called USO and said I'd love to do it, and they said, "Are you kidding? You guys are all they talk about." [Laughs] So I got on this plane and the first trip I went to was Germany, and I brought my comedy show there, and the audience was just the most amazing audience to perform for, man. They were just hungry for entertainment and humor. I got hooked right after that first visit. I went to nine countries back-to-back, and then I went to Iraq and Afghanistan, and now I'm a longtime member of the USO. That happened years before I started thinking about this kind of movie, and now this movie came, and we're on tour with it at some bases. It's just the ideal vehicle for me to do since I'm so invested in these guys.

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