90s teen heartthrob unrecognisable as he ditches Hollywood for life away from spotlight

A huge 90s teen heartthrob is almost unrecognisable after he ditched Hollywood for life away from the spotlight.

Richard Grieco starred alongside in the hit TV show 21 Jump Street, which ran from 1987 to 1991. The series followed two undercover detectives as they used their youthful good looks to infiltrate teenage gangs, and investigate crimes in schools. Millions of viewers swooned over Richard’s fresh-faced looks as Detective Dennis Booker, and obsessed over his trademark quiff, and the actor carved out a career as a model before landing his big role in the TV series.

The show came to an end after 103 episodes, and it was so successful that it spawned two huge movies starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Richard even popped in for a brief cameo as a treat for original fans of the show, as he reprised his role as Detective Booker, alongside award-winning Hollywood star Johnny, who played his original character Officer Tom Hanson.

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Now Richard, 59, has undergone a huge career transformation, and has shunned the limelight in favour of music and art. He regularly posts on social media, and fans were stunned to see he has grown out his iconic quiff and instead rocks shoulder-length black hair. He’s drifted away from the bright lights of Hollywood to focus on his art, which he has called “Abstract Emotionalism”, and features elements of “expressionism, surrealism, and cubism”.

“And over the years he has kept a very low profile to aggressively concentrate on his art work. Although his work [is] most often categorised as abstract, you will also see forms of expressionism, surrealism, and cubism just to name a few,” a description of his artwork reads on his official website.

His career began in fashion, as he landed campaigns for big brands such as Calvin Klein and Armani, before he secured his first TV role as Rick Gardner on the US soap opera One Life to Live in 1986. He exited the show a year later, and made several guest appearances on a string of TV shows, before his big break on 21 Jump Street in 1989. The show came to an end following Johnny’s decision to step away from the hit show, and a spin-off, simply named Booker, was made but only lasted one season.

After the demise of his own show, Richard landed a handful of roles in Hollywood movies including If Looks Could Kill, as well as Mobsters. Since his retirement from acting, he’s only appeared a few times on screen, most recently in an episode of the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where he played himself.

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