While Di Pace's role as Petros in Mamma Mia! was small, he definitely stood out. As the partner of the lone gay character in the ABBA-based musical — the person who convinces potential father Harry to come to terms with his own sexuality — he was pretty hard to miss.
Fans were left to fill in the details of his relationship with Colin Firth's Harry, as it was largely expressed via longing looks and dance sequences. It's never revealed if Harry is, in fact, bride-to-be Sophie's father, but he expresses his feelings for Petros near the movie's end in a triumphant rendition of "Take a Chance on Me."
Though he didn't return in Mamma Mia 2, he tweeted some fond memories of the first and was excited for the sequel ahead of that movie's release in 2018.
The arc of his and Firth's characters is interesting, as Di Pace had not fully accepted the fact that he himself was gay. Though he had come out to family and friends, he kept his sexuality a secret for fear that it could harm his acting career. It wasn't until a later role as Jesus Christ that Di Pace reckoned with this.
"Of all the people in the world that could play this part, they gave it to me," he said during a TEDx talk in 2019. "So, there I am, hanging on the cross, in Morocco, and I look up at the sky, and I think, 'You could still strike me down with lightning. Are you sure you want me to play your son? Me?'"
