AH, ARMANDO

By BILL HOFFMAN

November 10, 2004 --

By BILL HOFFMANN

ARMANDO Riesco is in a sticky situation with his latest movie role.

The 26-year-old actor lives in and loves New York City, but in the new Farrelly Brothers movie, “Fever Pitch,” he plays a rabid Red Sox fan — a character bound to bristle his wounded Bombers brethren.

“I know it’s touchy, but for the record, I’m not a Yankees or a Red Sox guy — I used to live in Chicago, so the Cubs are my team!” Riesco says.

With his dark red hair and fair complexion, this hunky Manhattan actor looks like he could have stepped off the boat from Dublin. But make no mistake, he’s 100 percent Latino, the son of Cuban parents who emigrated to Puerto Rico. Still, he rarely gets picked for Latino roles.

“A lot of people think I’m Irish. But the red hair is in the genes. My grandmother had a full head of flaming red hair,” says Riesco.

His next movie is “National Treasure” (opening November 19th). The Disney flick stars Nicholas Cage as an archaeologist on the trail of a secret code in the Constitution that leads to a buried treasure. His hunt sparks the interest of an FBI agent, played by Riesco

“Fever Pitch” is the shaggy-dog tale of a rabid Red Sox fan, played by Jimmy Fallon, who must choose between his undying love for the game and his new girl (Drew Barrymore) Riesco plays Fallon’s Sox-obsessed pal.

When it looked like the Red Sox were about to nail down the championship, the Farrelly Brothers quickly dreamed up a new happy ending, and had Fallon and Barrymore making out on the field as Boston celebrated their first Series win since 1918.

Riesco’s not doing bad for a guy who got chewed out by an impatient director on his first TV job — a one-line role as a wisecracking morgue attendant on “Early Edition.”

“I thought, ‘Oh no, there goes my career over one line,’” he recalls. “But I got through it and didn’t look back.”