Peter Facinelli Has Vinny Paz Film In The Works, Says ‘Jersey Shore’ Made Him Want To Change His Name

Peter Facinelli is best known for playing a duo of doctors – Carlisle in “The Twilight Saga” and Coop in “Nurse Jackie” – but he might be stripping down to a pair of boxer’s shorts for a new role as in-the-ring champ Vinny Paz.

“I’m attached to it,” Peter told AccessHollywood.com of the film-in-the works, based on the life story of the Italian-American former world champ, who formerly went by Vinny Pazienza. “It’s pending script. Right now the script’s being written, so if the script is up to par, I’d love to do it.

“I’ve met Vinny Paz and I think his story is very inspirational,” Peter added. “It’d be fun to do a boxing movie.”

If everything works out, the role would mean a lot of training for the actor, to take on the champ’s shape.

“Yeah, for sure. Once I take on that role,” Peter said of changing his body type. “Vinny has a very specific shape to his body and I’d have to get my body to match his and get into fighting shape. I just think he has more bulk on him, so I would have to bulk up a little bit more.”

The role is a meaningful one to Peter, an Italian-American himself, who was raised in Queens. Less meaningful, however, is “Jersey Shore,” which recently filmed its next season in his parents’ homeland of Italy.

“I was thinking of changing my last name to McFacinelli because I was so embarrassed by ‘Jersey Shore,’ I was going to have to give up my heritage. But all joking aside, I grew up in Queens, New York, so I have friends that were ‘guidos’ like that,” Peter told Access. “I don’t know if ‘guido’ is a derogatory term. I considered myself [one] when I was growing up. I’m a reformed ‘guido,’ so I can use that term and not have it be derogatory.”

But would he step in if he caught his own daughters (with actress Jennie Garth) acting like the ladies on the show?

“Yes, I wouldn’t want them acting that way. But you know, I grew up around it, I have friends that are still like that, so I’ve learned to embrace it and love it,” he said.