Television and film career Valderrama got his start performing in numerous plays, including ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rumors''. He made his professional debut in a
Spanish-language Pacific Bell commercial. At his drama teacher's suggestion, he got an agent and was cast in the
CBS miniseries
Four Corners and in
Omba Mokomba on the
Disney Channel. He made his big-screen debut in the film
Summer Catch. Valderrama played Fez on ''That '70s Show
from 1998 to 2006; he was a senior in high school when the pilot episode was filmed. He played DJ Keoki in the 2003 film Party Monster. He produced and hosted the MTV series Yo Momma from 2006 to 2007, and appeared three times on Punk'd, hosted by fellow That '70s Show'' alumnus
Ashton Kutcher. In April and May 2003, Valderrama appeared in the
Los Angeles Times critic's choice play
Blackout, an adaptation of the feature film
Drunks, and on April 4, 2004, starred in the
Actors' Fund of America one-performance only reading of
Sunset Boulevard. He filmed the short film
La torcedura in which he played the lead, and appeared in
The Darwin Awards, an independent film directed by
Finn Taylor. In animation work, Valderrama voiced Rodrigo in ''
Clifford's Really Big Movie''. He also voices the main character, Manny, in
Disney Channel's
Handy Manny series for
preschoolers. He had a starring role in
El Muerto, an
indie film directed by Brian Cox and based on the comic book created by
Javier Hernandez. In January 2007, Valderrama launched his own men's fashion label called "Calavena". His production company is WV Entertainment. In 2010, Valderrama guest-starred on
Disney Channel's series
Wizards of Waverly Place playing the role of Theresa Russo's brother, Ernesto. In 2011, he appeared in three episodes of
USA Network's
Royal Pains as Eric Kassabian, an art dealer. In 2012, Valderrama co-hosted
Premios Juventud as a superhero on July 19, 2012. In August 2012, he appeared in house music group Nomads' music video of "Addicted to Love". On September 27, 2013, Valderrama won an
ALMA Award for Outstanding Social Activism. By late November 2013, Valderrama had joined the cast of
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. On June 16, 2016, Valderrama joined
NCIS in its
fourteenth season. He is a series regular as
NCIS Special Agent Nicholas Torres. This led to crossover appearances on spin-offs
NCIS: New Orleans and
NCIS: Hawaiʻi. Wilmer also voiced Gaxton in the 2020
Disney/
Pixar animated feature film,
Onward. In 2021 he lent his voice to the Disney animated film
Encanto. In December 2021, Wilmer was set to executive produce and star in an untitled
Zorro series for Disney Branded Television. On April 30, 2022, it was announced that Valderrama would have a guest appearance in the follow-up sitcom, ''
That '90s Show''.
Music career On May 11, 2011, Valderrama released the song "The Way I Fiesta", which he performed as his alter ego, Eduardo Fresco. The video was directed by
Akiva Schaffer from the group
The Lonely Island.
Danny Masterson, Valderrama's co-star from ''That '70s Show'', has a cameo appearance in the video. Valderrama appeared in the 2009 music video for
Wisin & Yandel's song "
Imagínate". He also appeared in and produced the 2011 video for
LMFAO's song "
Sexy and I Know It". At the
Billboard Latin Music Awards, he said that he is making music which he will release in Spanish and English. On July 27, 2012, he interviewed Latina and said that he is recording tracks and is working with great artists/producers from both the English and the Spanish side. He said he was hoping to release more music in 2013. On March 10, 2014, Valderrama revealed that a
Salud Part 2 is in the works and that his new music would be coming out towards the end of the summer of 2014. ==Activism and philanthropy ==