# Richard Grieco
**Richard Grieco** (born 1965) is an American actor, producer, director, musician, and painter, best known for playing Officer Dennis Booker on the Fox police series *21 Jump Street* and in its spin-off *Booker* in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, Watertown, New York[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) |
| Breakout role | Officer Dennis Booker on *21 Jump Street* (Fox), joined 1988[2](https://www.richard-grieco.com/pages/filmography.html) |
| Own series | *Booker* (Fox, 1989–1990), lasted one season[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) |
| First TV role | Rick Gardner on ABC's *One Life to Live*, about a year, 1986–87[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) |
| Film debut | *If Looks Could Kill* (1991), as Michael Corben[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) • [3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html) |
| Other noted films | *Mobsters* (1991) as Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel; *A Night at the Roxbury* (1998); *22 Jump Street* (2014)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) • [3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html) |
| Other work | Albums including *Waiting for the Sky to Fall*; directing and producing from the 2000s onward[4](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621222467) • [3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html) |
## Early life and modeling
Grieco was born in Watertown, New York[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/). He attended college on a football scholarship but left after two years when he was signed by the Elite modeling agency, which placed him in advertisements for [Calvin Klein](https://www.edgepedia.org/calvin-klein) and Armani[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/). His own account adds that he relocated to Manhattan after Elite signed him in New York and modeled for designers including [Giorgio Armani](https://www.edgepedia.org/giorgio-armani), Calvin Klein, and Chanel, stopping after about six months to study acting for two years[5](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/About.html).
His first television audition led directly to a role: he was cast as the skiing playboy Rick Gardner on the ABC daytime drama *One Life to Live*, a part he played for about a year from 1986 to 1987[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/). A 1987 guest appearance as a long-lost cousin of [Tony Danza](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-danza)'s character on *Who's the Boss?* followed[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/).
## 21 Jump Street and Booker
In 1988 Grieco joined the cast of Fox's popular undercover-cop series *21 Jump Street* as the street-wise Officer Dennis Booker[2](https://www.richard-grieco.com/pages/filmography.html). A guest stint turned into a contract as a regular, timed with [Johnny Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-depp)'s scaling back his hours on the show; Grieco partly took over the heartthrob position in the ensemble[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/).
The role carried him into his own series. The spin-off *Booker*, with Grieco in the title role, premiered in 1989 and ran until 1990[2](https://www.richard-grieco.com/pages/filmography.html). [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide)-style retrospectives describe it as lasting only one season[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/). In 1995 he returned to series television in the short-lived UPN drama *Marker*, created by Stephen J. Cannel, playing Richard DeMorra[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grieco-richard-1965).
## Film career
Grieco moved into features with the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) spoof *If Looks Could Kill* (1991), playing Michael Corben, a high school student mistaken for a secret agent while studying in France[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) • [7](https://udspace.udel.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e911aafd-25d8-41f4-9de7-5db0e9eaf0dc/content). His second film, *Mobsters* (1991), cast him as gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel alongside [Christian Slater](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-slater) and [Patrick Dempsey](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-dempsey); the role drew comparisons to Warren Beatty's higher-profile 1991 biopic *Bugsy* released the same year[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/). In February 1991 he received Nato/Showest's Male Star of Tomorrow award[5](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/About.html).
By the mid-1990s feature stardom had not materialized, and he appeared more often in television movies, frequently playing villains. His television-movie roles included a street racer in *Born to Run* (Fox, 1993), a rapist from a woman's past in *Sin and Redemption* (CBS, 1994), an extortionist groom in *A Vow to Kill* ([USA Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-network), 1995), and a time traveler in *When Time Expires* ([The Movie Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-channel), 1997)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grieco-richard-1965). Theatrical fare from the period included *Tomcat: Dangerous Desires* (1993) and *The Demolitionist* (1996)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/).
**Cameos and self-references.** Grieco has twice returned to his own image on screen: he appears as himself in *A Night at the Roxbury* (1998) and reprises Dennis Booker in *22 Jump Street* (2014)[3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html) • [8](https://bestlifeonline.com/21-jump-street-richard-grieco-now-news/). He has also made self-referential appearances on series such as *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*[8](https://bestlifeonline.com/21-jump-street-richard-grieco-now-news/).
## Later career, directing, and music
From the 2000s onward Grieco worked steadily in independent genre films and expanded behind the camera. His credits as executive producer, producer, or director include *Art of the Dead* and *The Country Singer* (both 2019, the latter also directed), *Dream Round* (2020), *Night of the Tommyknockers* (2022), and the upcoming *The Painter* and *When Angels Fall*[3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html). Acting work in recent years includes *The Weapon* (2023), *Vanished* (2025), and roles in several films dated 2026 on his resume[3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html). He also worked with the low-budget studio [The Asylum](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-asylum), appearing in films such as *AE: Apocalypse Earth* (2013) and *Almighty Thor* (2011) as Loki[3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html) • [9](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Links.html).
His resumé lists voice work as [Ghost Rider](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghost-rider) in the video games *[Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-vs-capcom-3-fate-of-two-worlds)* and *Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3* (2011)[3](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html). As a musician he released the album *Waiting for the Sky to Fall*, available on Apple Music, and per the 1997 International Television Almanac he had earlier released an album of the same name[4](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621222467). He maintains a fine-art practice at griecoart.com, and his official site describes him as an actor, producer, director, musician, and artist[9](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Links.html).
## References
1. [Richard Grieco – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-grieco/)
2. [Richard Grieco – The Unofficial Website, Filmography](https://www.richard-grieco.com/pages/filmography.html)
3. [Richard Grieco Official Website – Resumé](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Resume.html)
4. [Richard Grieco – Apple Music / Apple TV snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621222467)
5. [Richard Grieco Official Website – About](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/About.html)
6. [Grieco, Richard 1965–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/grieco-richard-1965)
7. [University of Delaware press release on If Looks Could Kill](https://udspace.udel.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e911aafd-25d8-41f4-9de7-5db0e9eaf0dc/content)
8. [See "21 Jump Street" Star Richard Grieco Now at 57, Best Life](https://bestlifeonline.com/21-jump-street-richard-grieco-now-news/)
9. [Richard Grieco Official Website – Links](https://www.richardgrieco-official.com/Links.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Gr to G*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license