Who is David Fumero? Of course, he's ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Cristian, and has been since 1998. He's also undergone several other incarnations: model, Marine, Cuban immigrant. But those are things that he has done. What becomes clear after spending any time with the soft-spoken, self-effacing (near) 29-year-old is that to define him by whatever profession he's professing to have is to miss the point.
      "This is the job I've done the longest," the actor reflects over a seafood lunch on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. "I modeled for eight years, but you're doing different jobs, so it's not the same thing. I've always changed. So, for me, it was the end of my [OLTL] contract-- and I didn't give it as much thought. I thought it was time to leave."
       To be an actor and not have some sense of a career path almost doesn't compute. But acting is something Fumero tumbled into through modeling; it wasn't ever a goal-- he just had a lot of free time on his hands between jobs posing in Europe. "So, I thought, 'I'll take a class here and there,' and it was fun," he recalls. "I never thought I was going to be an actor. I was planning on being an architect, an engineer. This came out of the blue."
      He's definitely not shiftless: Anyone who works in soaps knows that you don't get offered (actually, begged by the producer) to sign another contract if you aren't willing to work hard. But there is a sense of going where the wind carries him with Fumero, who didn't do so hot in high school ("Most of my friends were top 5 percent, prepared for college. My PSATs, I scored, like, nothing. I scored all of these points in math, [but] reading comprehension... it was ridiculous") and decided to be one of the few and the proud instead of atttending an institution of higher learning.
      Plus, it would impress his strict father, who brought the family to Florida in 1980 when Fumero was 8. "I wanted to make my dad proud," says Fumero. "And I guess I saw too many Rambo movies." Pfc. Fumero and the Marines, however, weren't meant to be-- he fractured his ankle and finished up his one year as an active Marine mostly at Parris Island, S.C., "doing different jobs, going to Georgia and partying on the weekends, then going back to train and swim and workin different batallions."
      Next, the breeze (and a girlfriend) blew him into modeling, which seemed natural give his cut physique (showcased frequently on OLTL in his shirtless scenes) and chiseled cheekbones. But having his picture taken for a living didn't exactly rev his engines, either. "I got criticized at home for modeling. It wasn't very macho," he admits. "I was lucky to work with great photographers, and I did well as a model. But I never got involved in the business." One time, he recalls, he showed for a call at L'Oreal and ast in the lobby for 45 minutes before anyone realized that he was the model who they thought was extremely late. "They thought I was one of the construction workers," he grins. "My hair shape of a motorcycle helmet that I'd been seen wearing , and I had jeans on. I didn't care."
      Eventually came the acting, after classes in Paris where he learned to misbehave in front of strangers. But he never quite shrugged off his inherent shyness. "I don't like attention," he admits. "Which is crazy, because actors want attention. If I'm not, don't look at me."
      On soaps, however, people look at you five days a week-- something that took a little getting adjusted to, particularly the semi-nudeness of it all. "Now, I'm kind of used to it," Fumero shares. "But the first day, I'm in my boxers for six scenes. I don't know what's going on, and I'm naked. Now, I don't mind it."
      Still, after three years of that, Fumero had decided to blow wherever the next breeze took him. "Then, [Executive Producer] Gary [Tomlin] came onboard, and he was on me [to re-sign] every day," smiles the actor. "One day, I got motivated into it. So, two more years, and we'll see."
      It would have been easier to leave: Careerwise, the actors who started when Fumero did back in 1998-- Jason Shane Scott (ex-Will) and Erika Page (ex-Roseanne)-- recently flew off to Los Angeles. And although art has imitated their lives and Funero and co-star Erin Torpey (Jessica) are no longer dating on-or-off-screen, they still have scenes together. That might have been another incentive to head West. But the two are still good friends. "At the beginning, we were forced to stay friends," he explains. "It's hard to make a complete separation when you're working together. But she's very mature, and we hang out together."
      Of course, all of this only carries Fumero down the road another year-and-a-half-- at which time he may just decide to chuck it all and open up his own business (an idea floated over lunch). "In five years? I want to be sittingby my pool on the beach relaxing," he fantisizes. "Truth is, I don't know."
      So, maybe it isn't important to know exactly who David Fumero is. "I don't picture myself doing anything longterm," he admits. "I think I'll try something different after the show. I want to try to do whatever I can that's different. And however long that lasts, I'll go from there." After all, who he is is something Fumero is still working on.

Just the facts:

Cuba Libre (Not Shown Above)