Cosimo Fusco played Rachel Green’s Italian boyfriend Paolo in Friends – but these days he looks dramatically different his sitcom character.
Paolo appeared in the very first season of the hit American sitcom which aired on NBC in 1994 – nearly three decades ago.
When Jennifer Aniston’s character Rachel swooned over the handsome Italian, Ross Gellar was left fuming as he had a major crush on Rachel.
However, Rachel’s romance with the Italian was short-lived, and she dumped him soon after he tried it on with quirky Phoebe Buffay when she was giving him a massage.
Paolo, who could barely speak any English in the series, later appeared in season two where he had a one night stand with Rachel as she tried to get over Ross.
(Image: NBC)
These days, 59-year-old Cosimo has snipped off Paolo’s long locks, and he’s now sporting some grey hairs – but he still looks handsome as a silver fox.
Cosimo’s chiseled facial features are still very much in-tact, as is his thick curly hair.
The actor previously spoke out about his Friends character – admitting he had a problem with the way the show depicted Italian men.
However, he said he came to an agreement with the show creators.
(Image: Getty Images)
He told The Guardian: “There was one scene where I was getting a massage and I had to be this greasy guy who was touching Phoebe’s a**.
“I had a problem with how it portrayed me, as if guys from Italy are like that.
“What they wanted me to do was quite disrespectful. But I remember we were able to find a compromise, so I felt comfortable.
Fusco also explained that he was asked to improvise his lines in Italian, and was told not to speak any English.
(Image: WireImage)
He revealed: “I was asked to improvise, and I was a little bit skeptical because my English wasn’t as good as it is now, let’s face it.
“But I was told not to speak any English: ‘Just say whatever you want in Italian’. I made up most of the Italian spoken by Paolo. When I stand by Jennifer, I say, ‘Look at the moon. Look at the stars.”
He recently appeared in a Spanish horror series for HBO Europe called 30 Coins.
For more of the latest showbiz news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
