In Emily in Paris, season 4, part 2, a new heartthrob named Marcello—played by Eugenio Franceschini—introduces Emily (Lily Collins) to life in Rome, and sparks fly between them. As a new love interest in the hit Netflix show, the 32-year-old Italian actor is having his biggest career moment in the U.S. But he has a prolific history in Italian cinema and television spanning over 10 years.
How Emily in Paris will change Franceschini’s life is something he is still wrapping his head around, he told People on September 10. “For me it’s an unexpected gift, because everything happened very quickly,” he said. “When I was selected, I was filming a TV series here in Italy, so I didn’t have time to realize what was happening. So, I threw myself into something.”
Get to know more about Franceschini ahead.
Franceschini is a Virgo who was born in Verona, Italy, to actor parents.
Franceschini grew up in the northern part of Verona, People reported. However, he spoke to the outlet about his favorite spot in Rome, which is where the fourth season takes place. “Fontana di Trevi at the sunrise—I saw the Fontana di Trevi completely empty for the first time in my life just for us,” he said, referring to the Emily in Paris shoot. “It was a big, big emotion. I think this is something that I will keep forever in my mind and my heart.”
His birthday, per his IMDb, is Sept. 19, 1991, making him a Virgo. As the Astro Twins put it for ELLE, Virgos are “the accidental scholar and the eternal student of life, gaining expertise and mastery as a matter of course.”
That seems to fit Franceschini, who spoke to Vanity Fair Italia when he was 21 about his childhood traveling the world with his parents, who were also performers. “I discovered my passion for acting thanks to my father, a Veronese son of farmers who, after graduating in medicine, gave up everything to be a street actor,” he said in Italian. “His father never forgave him for that. In Bologna, he met my mother, an actress, good at puppets and children’s theater. Together they traveled the world, and I with them.”
He added more about where they went to Rolling Stone Italia in 2018: “I grew up following them between Verona and abroad, especially Spain, where I also attended third or fourth grade. I’m a bit of a gypsy, I’ve traveled a lot, and it was a fundamental part of my education.”
Collins and Franceschini became friends while filming together.
Franceschini’s experience filming Emily in Paris led him to become particularly close with Collins. “I worked with Lily all the time, so, yeah, she is [my closest friend on set],” he said.
He even gave her a shout-out on Instagram when posting photos from the premiere. “Thanks to @andymanf and @lilyjcollins you are special,” he wrote.
Lily Collins and Eugenio Franceschini in character on Emily in Paris
Franceschini is excited to see where his character, Marcello, goes in the future.
He told People his time on the show was “a great joy” and he looks forward to Marcello’s future arc.
Franceschini is not a huge fan of social media.
While promoting his 2018 Italian film Sconnessi (Disconnected in English), he told L’Officiel Italia in Italian, “I’m not very active on social media, I don’t like it very much. I’m disconnected. I don’t like living connected, but I have to do it for work. I recently opened my IG profile; I know it’s part of the ‘game,’ and I’m getting the hang of it.” He added at that point, he did not have a smartphone, adding, “I am not against digital evolution, I understand how useful it is, but it must not invade personal, public spaces.”
He told Rolling Stone Italia that same year that his partner and management encouraged him to be more online. They are the people who made his Instagram: “Now, little by little, my agent and my girlfriend have opened an Instagram profile for me,” he explained at the time. “They are trying to get me closer to this world, but the photos I post are always taken by someone.”
Sure enough, Franceschini’s Instagram presence is very sparse; he seems to keep most of his personal life private.
Franceschini grew up as a well-behaved kid but had a rebellious period in high school.
At age 21, the actor gave Vanity Fair Italia a very candid interview in November 2012 about his childhood while promoting Una famiglia perfetta (A Perfect Family in English). “I was always alone,” he said in Italian. “I spent my childhood traveling the world with my parents. And even when we were stuck in one place, I isolated myself. Even in the park.”
He added later, “Sometimes they would leave me with my grandmother for months. I was a good and obedient child, until I was fifteen.” At that point, “I decided to stay and go to high school in Verona. And I did everything I had never done before.”
He attended the Italian film school Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and booked parts as a student.
Franceschini ultimately went to an acting school and had a lot of career success even as a student.
During his second year at Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, he booked three parts. He discussed how he got into acting to Vanity Fair Italia in 2021, saying, “It was natural for me. I worked with my father for two years, alone, putting on shows. He was the one who told me that street theater was no longer a viable option, so I decided to try cinema. I didn’t think I’d get into the school audition, only 18 out of 800 got through. When the results came out I was with dad in a bed & breakfast in Bilbao: it was the first time I saw him cry.”
He added more detail in his 2018 Rolling Stone Italia interview, saying his dad encouraged him to go to the school. “For me, doing this job meant going on tour with his company, and he wisely told me: ‘Okay, be an actor, but go to Rome and try to get into the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.’” His acceptance to the competitive school was a lot to take in. “They were moments of incredible beauty: in the hotel I looked through the list name by name and when I saw Franceschini… I still get shivers thinking about it,” he said.
At age 21, he shared his view on relationships and dating at the time.
During his 2012 Vanity Fair Italia interview, he was asked about his history with women. He answered in Italian that he had “one long relationship, which ended after two years. I’m not cut out for a couple’s life. My father is of gypsy origin, and like him, I’m intolerant of staying in one place or situation, after a while I need changes. In fact, I haven’t had any long relationships anymore.” That has no doubt changed in the years since, as he would later speak in 2018 about having a girlfriend. (He also shared a photo of him carrying a baby in October 2018, for what it’s worth.)
He also shared his views on sex at the time, saying, “I’m not obsessed with it. I often fall in love, I like to seduce, the psychological challenge. If you end up in bed then it’s fine, otherwise it’s fine too.”
Franceschini describes himself as a calm person who loves music and rugby.
The actor spoke a little about himself to Rolling Stone Italia in 2018, saying, “I am not very open as a person, but I think this is a cultural legacy of my country. Then I have a very calm nature in everyday life, I am not one who gets excited easily. Big problems make me angry, not bullshit.”
He played rugby as a kid, which fueled his love for the sport. His music taste isn’t what many people would expect, he shared: “They tell me that I am a bit old inside, because since high school I have always listened to Guccini, who marked my growth as a man together with De André. Then obviously I will go to Florence to hear the Foo Fighters, I adore them, there are a lot of groups that I like to death.”
He has a Shakespeare tattoo with an incredible backstory.
If you look at Franceschini’s Instagram, you’ll quickly see shots of his back tattoo, which includes Shakespeare quote, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” He got the tattoo when he was 17, he told Rolling Stone Italia in 2018.
“If we talk about Shakespeare, The Tempest is my favorite play and Prospero is my character,” he explained. His tattoo “happened after a very particular evening at Sziget: After the Metallica concert it started pouring, the Danube came up, half of the island of Obuda was flooded, and they turned off the generators. They started playing drums, we danced in the rain. The next morning, going back to the tent, I got the tattoo: it wasn’t done in the best way but that’s okay, the story behind it is beautiful, and the fact that it came out a little badly increases its meaning.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.