What Happened To '80s Heartthrob Richard Grieco?

There was a point in time when '80s heartthrob Richard Grieco seemed all teed up to become the next big thing in Hollywood. In 1988, Grieco joined the cast of the already-popular Fox police procedural "21 Jump Street" as the rebellious, leather jacket-sporting Officer Dennis Booker, offering an edgier alternative to series lead Johnny Depp's iconic role as the more clean-cut, by-the-book Officer Tom Hanson. Notably, while Grieco was only part of "Jump Street" for one full season, his departure from the hit show in 1989 was immediately followed up by the launch of his own spinoff series, "Booker." However, that show only lasted one season in total. 

While Grieco continued to book acting jobs over the years, he never quite reached the level of fame that the hunky actor once seemed destined for. While it's often been speculated that Grieco was one of many Hollywood actors who fell victim to typecasting after finding initial success, the '80s star himself has also accepted responsibility for why he didn't land more big roles post-"Booker." During a March 2021 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Grieco confessed that he declined most of the jobs that were being offered to him in the early 1990s, citing what he acknowledged was a totally outdated mentality about being extremely selective about his work. 

"I'll be honest with you, I turned down everything from probably '92 to '94," the "21 Jump Street" star confirmed, clarifying, "There are a lot of films that I turned down that went on to be big things, and other films that didn't." While Grieco mostly stands by his decisions, one movie he does regret saying no to is the classic 1994 action-thriller "Speed," which ended up casting Keanu Reeves in the lead role opposite Sandra Bullock instead.

Naturally, you can only say no so many times before the phone simply stops ringing as much — not that Richard Grieco really minded. After all, fewer days on set gave him more time and energy to pursue his other passion: art. Grieco paints in a style he coined called "Abstract Emotionalism," which the '80s heartthrob claims allows him to convey his inner thoughts and feelings in a deeply visceral way that he simply can't achieve through screen acting. "I paint because I have to paint, like I have to get these feelings out of my head," the "Booker" star explained to CultureMap Houston in September 2012.

"There will be this vague idea I have when I begin and then the painting begins to take over itself. There are certain times when people ask me about why I did this or that," Grieco continued. "Honestly, though, I can't really answer them. I just let the paint move and give it room to breathe." He has continued to keep one foot in the door of showbusiness too. In fact, the '80s star even found his way back to his most famous role. In 2014, Grieco made a cameo as Dennis Booker during the iconic end-credits sequence of "22 Jump Street." 

The sequel to 2012's "21 Jump Street" movie reboot, starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, who knows all about taking an acting hiatus himself, featured cameos from Grieco's former co-stars Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, and Holly Robinson Peete. In the scene in question, Tatum's Officer Greg Jenko — who may or may not be related to the late Frederic Forrest's Captain Richard Jenko from the original show — declares Booker a "legend."