Original Heartbreak High star Salvatore ‘Con’ Coco opens up about his secret side hustle other actors are ‘too embarrassed’ to admit

EXCLUSIVE

He was a household name in the late 1990s, starring as the charismatic Costa ‘Con’ Bordino in the breakout hit drama Heartbreak High.

Now decades on, Salvatore Coco spends his days between acting gigs working as a tradie and as a master of ceremonies on the weekends – mostly at weddings.

The jack of all trades was snapped hard at work rendering a concrete wall at a property in Sydney’s inner west on Wednesday. 

The 49-year-old told Daily Mail Australia other actors are simply too ’embarrassed’ to admit they need other jobs to pay the bills. 

‘I have nothing to hide. I embrace it because I’ve got the skills and I’m proud of everything that I do,’ he said. 

‘Those who try to hide it, it’s not good, because we all do it, we all do it to survive.’

Salvatore Coco was snapped hard at work rendering a concrete wall at a property in Sydney ‘s inner west on Wednesday

In recent years Salvatore starred in the failed reboot of the late 90s Australian hit TV program SeaChange, which attempted a lack lustre revival almost two decades after its finale.

Salvatore also landed a role in the Underbelly two-part spin-off Informer 3838 in 2020, and appeared in another miniseries the following year titled Australian Gangster.

His most recent on-screen gig 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 Theatre School, he urged them to treat every job like it was their last. 

‘I told them “Don’t think that you’re going to get jobs every day”,’ he recalled. 

‘The jobs will come, the jobs will go, you might work, you might not work, it might be a week, it might be a month, it might be years.

‘You never know when the next one’s gonna come.’

Salvatore Coco is seen as the loveable Costa ‘Con’ Bordino in the hit TV series during the 1990s. He is picturd with Ada Nicodemou

Salvatore believes his diverse skills have only made him a better actor with the best performers those who can bring life experience to a role. 

‘I’m versatile and I’m diverse because there’s nothing I can’t do. I’ll do everything and anything. I can give you knowledge on how to perform, 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 is a reason why people say I’m a great actor. It’s because I’ve lived.

‘I’ve had the good times, I’ve had the bad times. If you don’t live, how are you supposed to be good? You can’t, it’s impossible.’

Salvatore said aside from acting, working as a chef in a commercial kitchen and as a tradesmen had brought him the most joy in his life. 

He explained that being a tradie isn’t all that different to being in front of the camera. 

Salvatore (pictured at a wedding) told Daily Mail Australia other actors were simply too ’embarrassed’ to admit they need other jobs to pay the bills

Actors Scott Major, Salvatore Coco and Tai Nguyen from Heartbreak High are pictured

‘It keeps you on your toes and that’s no different to being a performer,’ he said. 

‘It’s exactly the same thing. It’s exactly the same foundations. It’s exactly the same formulas. You gotta really look at it that way.

‘It keeps my mind ticking. Yes, I get tired. We all get tired. No job is easy but at the end of the day they’re extremely mentally stimulating.’

Many have said his character on Heartbreak High, Costa ‘Con’ Bordino, was based on him and his own entrepreneurial spirit. 

‘[Costa] was an entrepreneur, he was always up to doing something, he always wanted to do something and was trying something new,’ he said. 

‘Everyone says the character was me. I got cast for my personality and who I was so Costa is actually just a piece of me.’

He said that at the end of the day, his father hadn’t raised him to be lazy.

‘I got brought up to work. Apart from being in hospitality and acting, I really have always worked for myself,’ he said. 

‘I do 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 a pub and just talking and being depressed. Be positive about something and by doing other things outside of the industry it keeps me positive because when I go back and do it I’m so glad to be back. 

‘I do it tough on the other side and when I go, I appreciate what I’ve done.’