EXCLUSIVE
He was a household name in the late 1990s, playing the charismatic Costa ‘Con’ Bordino in the hit drama Heartbreak High.
Now, decades later, Salvatore Coco spends his days between performances as an actor and as a master of ceremonies on the weekends, mainly at weddings.
The jack of all trades broke down while working on a concrete wall at a property in Sydney’s inner west on Wednesday.
The 49-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that other actors are simply too “embarrassed” to admit they need other jobs to pay the bills.
‘I have nothing to hide. “I accept it because I have the skills and I am proud of everything I do,” he said.
“Those who try to hide it are not good, because we all do it, we all do it to survive.”
Decades after Heartbreak High Salvatore Coco (pictured) spends his days between acting gigs working as a merchant and as an emcee on the weekends, mostly at weddings.
Salvatore Coco was photographed working on a concrete wall at a property in Sydney’s inner west on Wednesday.
In recent years, Salvatore starred in the failed reboot of hit Australian TV show SeaChange from the late ’90s, which he attempted to lacklusterly revive almost two decades after its end.
Salvatore also landed a role in the two-part Underbelly spinoff Informer 3838 in 2020, and appeared in another miniseries the following year titled Australian Gangster.
His most recent on-screen performance was in 2022, when he returned to Home and Away for the third time to reprise his role as Dimitri Poulos.
When Salvatore taught students at the Sydney Drama School, he urged them to treat each job as if it were their last.
“I told them, ‘Don’t think you’re going to get a job every day,'” he recalled.
‘Jobs will come, jobs will disappear, you may work, you may not work, it may be a week, it may be a month, it may be years.
“You never know when the next one will come.”
Salvatore Coco is seen as the lovable Costa ‘Con’ Bordino in the hit 1990s television series.
Salvatore believes that his diverse skills have only made him a better actor and the best performers are those who can bring life experience to a role.
‘I am versatile and diverse because there is nothing I can’t do. I will do everything and anything. “I can give you knowledge on how to act, how to entertain, how to dance because I’m a triple threat,” he said.
‘I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet, but there’s a reason why people say I’m a great actor. It’s because I have lived.
‘I’ve had good times, I’ve had bad times. If you don’t live, how are you supposed to be good? You can’t, it’s impossible.’
Salvatore said that, in addition to acting, working as a chef in a commercial kitchen and as a shopkeeper had brought him the greatest joy of his life.
He explained that being a professional is not that different from being in front of the camera.
Salvatore (pictured at a wedding) told Daily Mail Australia that other actors were simply too “embarrassed” to admit they need other jobs to pay the bills.
Pictured are actors Scott Major, Salvatore Coco and Tai Nguyen from Heartbreak High.
“It keeps you on your toes and that’s no different than being an artist,” he said.
‘It’s exactly the same. They are exactly the same fundamentals. They are exactly the same formulas. You really have to look at it that way.
‘It keeps my mind going. Yes, I get tired. We all get tired. No job is easy, but at the end of the day they are extremely mentally stimulating.’
Many have said that his character on Heartbreak High, Costa ‘Con’ Bordino, was based on him and his own entrepreneurial spirit.
‘(Costa) was a go-getter, he was always up for something, he always wanted to do something and he was trying something new,’ he said.
“Everyone says that the character was me. “They chose me for my personality and who I was, so Costa is really just a part of me.”
He said that, at the end of the day, his father hadn’t raised him to be a slacker.
‘I was educated to work. TOAside from being in hospitality and acting, I’ve always really worked for myself,’ he said.
‘I enjoy sitting down and having a drink or dinner with friends, but this is something I’ve mentioned to my students, you know, don’t get caught up in that toxic environment.
‘Don’t get caught up in just going to the pub, talking and getting depressed. Being positive about something and doing other things outside of the industry keeps me positive because when I go back and do it, I’m so glad to be back.
“I do it hard on the other side and when I leave, I appreciate what I’ve done.”