Danny Masterson Calls Ashton Kutcher His Best Friend In 2006 Intv
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00:00 my two best friends and Laura is
00:01 basically my sister in law and I
00:03 watched Miller grow up since she
00:05 was 14 years old, you know,
00:07 so those are like those are family
00:09 following news that Ashton Kutcher
00:10 and his wife Mila Kunis supported
00:12 Danny Masterson and his sexual
00:13 assault trial by sending letters
00:15 to the court. Access Hollywood is
00:17 looking back at their friendship
00:18 over the years. Comment tonight at 8 o'clock.
00:22 That's when Chico and the man is on the
00:26 three first met on the hit sitcom
00:28 The Big Bang Theory back in 1998.
00:30 Danny was 22 at the time.
00:32 Ashton was 20 and Mila was 14.
00:35 Chaos set and.
00:38 Access Hollywood was on set while the
00:40 three film the first season of the sitcom.
00:42 At the time, Mila recalled the moment
00:44 she found out she got the part of
00:46 Jackie Burkhardt. Well, I found out
00:48 when I got the part I was in school
00:50 and so it was finals and doing lunch.
00:52 I called my agent or my manager.
00:54 My trip and I told me yeah,
00:56 OK, you got it.
00:57 I was in the counselor's office
00:58 and I started yelling.
00:59 I was like Oh my God, I can't believe
01:01 I got it. Everyone turned around,
01:02 started looking at me going shut up
01:04 'cause I was in the meeting and
01:06 everyone's concentrating on the finals.
01:07 I was just shocked and I had a final
01:09 next period. I don't know how I did,
01:11 but but I had it and I did OK,
01:13 but it was it was shocked.
01:14 It was like biggest shock in my life.
01:16 Ashton played Michael Kelso,
01:17 which was opposite of Mila's Jackie.
01:19 And while on set he told Access Hollywood
01:21 what it was like joining the show.
01:23 I'm stoked about it.
01:24 You know I'm ready to go.
01:26 I'm just puppy on the air and
01:28 so people think yeah,
01:29 I mean I'm so excited to be
01:31 working with these people.
01:32 As far as I'm concerned,
01:33 the best people in the business
01:35 all the way around like you know,
01:37 Carsey Warner and the Turners,
01:39 Mark Brazil, David Trainor is
01:40 an amazing director.
01:41 The cast all these people are great.
01:43 I mean I. I'm I'm just into it.
01:47 The show went on to air until 2006.
01:49 Access Hollywood was on the red
01:51 carpet for the show's finale party
01:53 and Danny explained to us how much
01:56 his co-stars grew while filming.
01:57 None of the other kids had ever really
01:59 worked and they didn't know what
02:01 they were doing and then over the
02:02 course of the first month or two
02:03 every sort of figure out what's
02:05 going on and then it just became
02:06 really easy but like long rehearsal
02:08 days for the first couple months.
02:10 How are important are the friendships
02:12 that you made on this show?
02:13 Yeah, I mean, you know,
02:16 could you remember my two best friends
02:18 and and Laura's basically my sister
02:19 in law and I watched Miller grow
02:21 up since she was 14 years old.
02:23 Those are like those are family.
02:24 Meanwhile, at the same event,
02:27 Miller joked that the boys on the show
02:28 did joke around with her quite
02:30 a bit over the years.
02:32 Was it hard growing up?
02:33 Of course, you know, 'cause Ashton
02:34 and Topher and when were
02:35 they're all a bunch of jokesters.
02:36 So was were they torturing you like
02:38 a little sister on the set back then?
02:40 Yeah, I mean I got pants a lot,
02:42 but it was all in good fun.
02:43 It wasn't anything that was like,
02:45 you know, like oh, you know,
02:47 it was just it was fun.
02:48 All of us had a great time.
02:49 It was just an easy show.
02:50 It was great.
02:51 In a resurface 2002 interview
02:53 on the Rosie O'Donnell show
02:55 that began circulating online
02:57 following Ashton and Mila's support letters,
02:59 Mila claimed that Danny bet
03:01 Ashton to quote French kisser
03:02 when she was a quote 14 year old
03:04 little girl.
03:05 Yeah, I've never kissed a guy.
03:07 So I was I was so
03:08 and then you know,
03:08 Ash is attractive and I was
03:10 a 14 year old little girl
03:11 and I was extremely scared for my life.
03:12 Sure, I know he was very nice about it.
03:14 He's like, oh, don't worry.
03:15 Sounds like OK, then Danny goes and goes
03:18 dude, I'll give you $10.
03:19 If you French kisser.
03:20 What would you say?
03:21 My stick your tongue in my mouth
03:22 or some button?
03:23 Oh no, no, no, no.
03:24 In our 2006 interview with Mila,
03:28 she recalled experiencing
03:30 a lot of first while
03:31 growing up on the show.
03:32 He does a lot.
03:33 I mean, my life changed during the show,
03:35 like anything that any one of my first
03:36 date while doing the show.
03:37 I had my first kiss on the show.
03:38 You know what I mean?
03:39 So a lot of things I remember
03:41 from from when I started now.
03:43 So those are pretty good memories, though.
03:44 I mean, that's good memories.
03:46 The problem is they're all on tape
03:49 for the rest of my life.
03:50 So you know people go through puberty.
03:52 You can visualize that
03:54 and so you know it's a little embarrassing.
03:55 It's a little hard to watch sometimes
03:56 like you go through an awkward stage
03:58 after that 70 show concluded in 2006.
04:01 The three actors
04:02 continue to remain friends.
04:04 Ashton and Mila in particular
04:06 shared a special connection
04:07 that eventually blossomed
04:08 into romantic relationship.
04:10 They began dating in 2012
04:12 and later married in 2015.
04:14 Their that 70 show
04:16 co-star Deborah Joe Rump
04:17 recently told Access Hollywood
04:18 that she noticed a spark between the two.
04:20 There was this little reunion
04:22 and I remember watching it.
04:23 It was quite a while
04:24 after 70 show had ended
04:26 and there was a little
04:29 kind of a little spark thing
04:32 that was happening
04:33 with Mila and Ashton.
04:34 I caught that.
04:35 I absolutely caught that.
04:36 Oh Michael.
04:37 I did not think
04:41 it was going to go anywhere,
04:42 but I think very shortly
04:44 after that they were dating.
04:45 I was like Hugo.
04:48 It was really, you know,
04:49 it's kind of perfect.
04:50 Meanwhile, Ashton also
04:51 stayed close with Danny
04:52 and in 2016 they teamed up
04:54 once again to star in the Netflix series
04:56 The Ranch.
04:57 Really, since we finished 70 show
04:59 we were like trying to find
05:01 the next thing that we could do together
05:03 and you know Danny was working
05:05 and I was working
05:05 and where our schedules are competing.
05:07 We couldn't find the right project
05:09 the right and finally
05:11 we were both wrapping jobs
05:13 at the same time and went.
05:14 Oh wait, we're both available.
05:16 We should maybe do that thing
05:17 we talked about 10 years.
05:18 Figure it out and so we went
05:20 to the grinding board
05:21 and spent about a year
05:23 actually trying to figure out
05:24 exactly what we're going to do
05:25 and exactly what it would look like
05:26 in exactly what world
05:27 knowing that it would be on us
05:29 if it succeeded or failed.
05:30 We would take that blame
05:32 and so it was very important to us
05:35 with our fear of failures to not do so.
05:38 But just one year later in 2017
05:41 Danny was written off the show
05:43 following accusations
05:44 of sexual misconduct.
05:46 In June 2020, Danny was charged
05:48 with raping three women.
05:49 The three women had all met the actor
05:51 through the Church Scientology
05:53 in May of 2023.
05:54 He was convicted on two
05:56 of three counts of rape.
05:57 Ahead of Danny sentencing,
06:00 Mila and Ashton vouch
06:01 for their former co-stars characters
06:03 and letters to the court
06:04 with Ashton calling him a quote
06:06 role model and Mila writing
06:07 he was quote an exceptional character
06:09 in her letter.
06:11 Kunis writes in part quote
06:12 one of the most remarkable aspects
06:14 of Danny's character
06:15 is his unwavering commitment
06:16 to discouraging the use of drugs.
06:18 His influence on me in this regard
06:20 has been invaluable
06:21 in an industry where the pressures
06:23 and temptations of substance
06:25 use can be overwhelming.
06:26 Danny played a pivotal role
06:28 in guiding me away
06:29 from such destructive paths.
06:31 Adding later in her letter quote
06:33 in conclusion, I wholeheartedly vouch
06:35 for Danny Masterson's
06:36 exceptional character
06:37 and the tremendous positive influence
06:39 he has had on me
06:40 and the people around him.
06:41 His dedication to leading
06:42 a drug free life and the genuine care
06:44 he extends to others
06:45 make him an outstanding
06:47 role model and friend.
06:48 Ashton echoed similar sentiments
06:51 in his letter to the judge,
06:52 writing in part quote
06:53 as a role model, Danny
06:55 has consistently been an excellent one.
06:57 I attribute not falling
06:58 into the typical Hollywood life
07:00 of drugs directly to Danny.
07:01 Anytime that we were to meet someone
07:03 or interact with someone
07:04 who was on drugs or did drugs,
07:06 he made it clear that
07:07 that wouldn't be a good person
07:08 to be friends with.
07:08 And for me that was an implication
07:10 that if I were to do drugs,
07:11 he wouldn't be friends with me,
07:13 which is something
07:13 I would never want to risk or jeopardize.
07:15 I'm grateful for him
07:16 for that positive peer pressure.
07:18 Adding later in his letter quote,
07:21 while I'm aware that the judgment
07:23 has been a case of guilty
07:24 on two counts of rape by force
07:26 and the victims have
07:27 a great desire for justice,
07:28 I hope that my testament
07:29 to his character is taken
07:30 into consideration and sentencing.
07:32 I do not believe he is
07:34 an ongoing harm to society
07:35 and having his daughter
07:36 raised without a present father
07:38 would be an injustice in and of itself.
07:40 Thank you for taking the time to read this.
07:43 After Danny was sentenced to 30 years
07:45 to life in prison in September 2023
07:47 and meal is in actions letters with public.
07:50 The two took to social media to apologize.
07:53 We are aware of the pain
07:56 that has been caused
07:57 by the character letters
07:59 that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson.
08:00 We support victims.
08:03 We have done this historically
08:04 through our work and will continue
08:06 to do so in the future.
08:07 Couple months ago, Danny's family
08:10 reached out to us and they asked us.
08:12 To write character letters
08:14 to represent the person
08:16 that we knew for 25 years
08:18 so that the judge could take that
08:19 into full consideration
08:21 relative to the sentencing.
08:22 The letters were not written
08:24 to question the legitimacy
08:26 of the judicial system
08:27 or the validity of the jury's ruling.
08:30 They were intended for the judge to read
08:32 and not to undermine
08:34 the testimony of the victims
08:36 or retraumatize them in any way.
08:38 We would never want to do that.
08:39 And we're sorry if
08:41 that has taken place.
08:42 Our heart goes out to every single person
08:45 who's ever been a victim of sexual assault,
08:47 sexual abuse, or rape.
08:49 [Music]