Since joining EastEnders, Michael Greco has played theater, streaming, and film roles, and just recently earned his biggest audience-role.
Beppe di Marco, the enigmatic and moody former police officer who lived in Albert Square between 1998 and 2002, is perhaps best remembered by British television viewers as Michael Greco.
But in the years since leaving EastEnders, Greco has quietly built a diverse and resilient career – one that now includes a major role in a blockbuster Hollywood franchise, a high-stakes presence in the professional poker world, and a deeply personal transformation off-screen.
Greco is not forgotten, unlike he was once a fixture on British tabloid scene and soap award circuits. However, he has largely remained untrained as his transition from Walford to the global stage.
Greco was a cast member in the 2023 film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a well-known follow-up to the Francis Lawrence-directed original Hunger Games series. It is a far cry from Walford’s cobbled streets. Greco portrays Sejanus Plinth, the main character in the movie, as the father of the brutal sponsor of the Olympics.
Greco has recently surprised a lot of fans by showcasing a remarkable physical transformation, which he attributes to regular fasting and a disciplined lifestyle. He’s now 55, and he frequently shares updates from the gym, drawing admiration and surprise from followers who find his physique to be impressive.
“Nearer 60 than 50! Never too old to purchase an eight-pack”! In 2023, he captioned one viral post. He has emphasized consistency and mindset in interviews, particularly for older people. People in their late teens or early 30s are the most popular users of social media, he said. “I’m about to turn 56, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been.”
He adheres to a diet that includes intermittent fasting between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., moderate exercise three to four times per week, and strict eating habits. He acknowledged that “I do have a little bit of chocolate every day,” but it’s about balance.
Greco has suggested that he might use his platform to motivate older people to take their health and well-being seriously. Joe Wicks has dominated the health sector, but he said there might be room for someone with a little older to energise people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Beppe di Marco, a brooding single father with a complicated past in the vice squad, was Michael Greco’s first appearance on EastEnders in 1998. His arrival was a part of the wider Di Marco family’s expansion, which was meant to compete with the show’s recognizable Mitchells.
Beppe remained for another two years, entangled in romantic plots, family tension, and business ventures, including ownership of the club E20, while the rest of the family was gradually wiped out by 2000.
His departure, however, was unexpected and underwhelming, according to Greco. He described it as “disappointing” in a 2023 interview with FruitySlots.com, citing “there were circumstances that prevented me from having a bigger send-off… I just took a cab, didn’t I? I had a packet of crisps with me as I left Lynne in the cafe before driving to Leicester.
Greco has consistently refuted tabloid claims that he was fired as a result of tension in the backstage and dissatisfaction with the stories. He told Daily Express, “I resigned because I no longer desired celebrity status,” adding that he still values the show highly.
In February 2025, Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell) and other former stars joined EastEnders to celebrate its 40th anniversary, which was celebrated more than 20 years later. Greco has publicly acknowledged his disappointment and acceptance in the absence of an invitation to return.
There hasn’t been a day since my agent contacted me to ask me to come back, he told The Independent. “I left more than 20 years ago. “That’s fine. I have no ties to any of the characters. There is no way for me to return.
After EastEnders, Greco continued to act in film, television, and theatre. His screen credits include roles in Doctors, Casualty, The Dumping Ground , and the Netflix docudrama Queen Cleopatra (2023), where he played Pothinus. In 2022, he portrayed real-life serial killer Raymond Fernandez in Scary Tales of New York – a role he later described on Instagram as “one of my favourite characters to have ever portrayed.”
Greco has also kept a steady presence on stage, taking on dynamic parts in productions like Chicago (as Billy Flynn), Twelve Angry Men (Juror 7), and multiple pantomimes, including Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk. He recently appeared as the villain Fleshcreep in the latter at Ipswich Regent Theatre over Christmas 2024, a performance he proudly promoted on social media: “Having two young children myself, I’m looking forward to them watching their Daddy entertaining the audiences.”
Michael Greco has undergone a personal transformation that he openly shares with his Instagram followers. When his partner Helen Harris gave birth to their son Gianluca in July 2021, he became the first father. Gianluca, who was born prematurely with a uncommon condition known as Gastroschisis, needed immediate surgery and spent several weeks in Great Ormond Street Hospital’s intensive care unit.
Greco was honest about how much love and suffering that year brought on. He shared his first breast removal operation on social media with the caption “Baby has already had his first operation.” “This is by far my life’s best day.” Gianluca, you are more special to me than I can ever imagine.
With the birth of his second son, Gianni, two years later, in June of this year, Greco remarried. In a sincere post, he wrote, “I am truly grateful to be given another beautiful, baby boy.” “I’ve grown up the way I’ve always been,” said the father.
Source: Mirror
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