With Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, I have become a major Paul Anthony Kelly fan. It’s amazing to see this new actor create a full-formed JFK Jr and play the character with such confidence, nuance and charisma. Paul Kelly deserves all of the hype he’s getting, he’s fantastic. The show is good too, and I think that’s because Ryan Murphy isn’t involved in the writing or directing, honestly. Paul is 37 years old, with years as a male model under his belt, and this is his big break. The sky’s the limit – he’s handsome in a way which is really refreshing, and his personality is refreshing too. He covers the latest issue of GQ Hype, and I enjoyed this piece:

Getting the Love Story role one month before they started filming: “I was kind of thrust into this position with no time to think about anything else,” Kelly says. He spent three weeks working with a dialect coach and an acting coach, collecting back issues of George (the political magazine JFK Jr. cofounded), and listening to the Profiles in Courage audiobook (JFK wrote it, JFK Jr. read it) nonstop. Kennedy’s physicality was another challenge. “I had to beef up a little bit, which was great. I was model size before, so I had to go from a 38 US size/48 European to then like a 52—that’s two sizes. Pretty big jump in three weeks, but we did it. As soon as I got cast, I hit the books as much as I could—in typical John Jr. fashion as well, a cram session.”

On being objectified: “Why not? Listen, there’s an ass for every saddle. We live in a time when everyone is hairless and beefy and ripped and whatever. I keep it au natural. I have chest hair, I own it. I don’t really want to fit into anyone’s mold. I did that for so long being a model. I’ve definitely had to shave it down for shoots and whatever and fit that mold. But now I’m in the business of breaking that mold and creating my own…. Maybe being objectified a little bit as a model and perhaps held at a certain degree prepared me for what’s next.”

His early modeling days: “I had Robert Smith hair. I used to just rat it out and make it all big and crazy. I wore eyeliner and I was wearing the tightest jeans and pointy shoes I could find, and it was quite a look. And they saw past it.”

His tattoos: He has 30 tattoos strategically placed all over his body—including a “138” tattoo, a reference to a Misfits song—so they disappear under a classic Brooks Brothers two-piece. “It’s hard to judge a book by its cover,” Kelly cracks.

He wasn’t always male-model beautiful. “I had a growth spurt [as a teenager] and then I got a little chubby. I was like 210, 215. I was anxious, so I would just eat bread all the time.”

Goth life. “I went to a Catholic school and I was like the Goth kid, metal head, punk rock. I went to a uniform school with a seven-inch mohawk and I used to, like, paint my eyes red with makeup. I wore makeup all through high school, eyeliner, and took my pants in so they were, like, skintight. I had my Outhouse T-shirts underneath [the uniform]. I was a huge Misfits fan. I’m a true metalhead at heart.”

The backlash to those “test shots”: “I knew it was just testing. It wasn’t completely done…. There was some talk, but it really showed definitely how much people care and how well regarded these two individuals are. And at that point it really just meant, like, ‘Oh, okay, you got to pull the bootstraps a little bit tighter.’ But it was also kind of [an] admission that people are going to watch it. They’re already intrigued. And what we have now is so far from [those test shots]. I mean, it’s so dialed in. I think it really helped us as a whole to really dial it in. People weren’t going to take whatever.”

The infamous fight between JFK Jr. & Carolyn: “Unfortunately, they had a very private situation happen very publicly. But there’s video evidence of this, and that’s one thing that we were able to really review pretty often and choreograph, so we would kind of be as close to the real thing as we could get it, without it being tacky.” Pigeon and Kelly were so effective, in fact, that New Yorkers around the area started to worry. “On the Citizen app, somebody made a domestic dispute report on it,” Kelly says. “I guess you’re doing your job when the public is like, ‘Oh, shit’s going down.’”

Paul on Jack Schlossberg dissing the series: “I don’t have the first clue what it’s like to live a legacy and have such a storied existence and have stories told about your family. I think what we’ve tried to pursue and do with the retelling of John and Carolyn’s story is just to tell an extremely human story, something that everyone can relate to. I mean, what’s not to love about love? That’s all I can speak about…I have no idea what it’s like to be Jack Schlossberg and be a Kennedy.” Love Story’s release coincides with Schlossberg’s own formal entry into politics; he’s running for a House seat in New York City. “Honestly, I wish Jack the best, really,” says Kelly. “All the power [to him].”

On fans pitching him for Bruce Wayne: “If that’s what they say, then who am I to say no? I mean, that would be a dream come true. I’ve been trying all these years to break in. But all it takes is one, and I got this one that was really, I guess, right for me, or I was right for it. It was a very kind of kismet situation, and here we are.”

His life nowadays: “I turned 37 during the shoot, which was cool. I’m a little older. I’m a little more prepared, I think, in being secure in who I am. I have a wonderful support system in my wife, friends and family. I’ve lived a life.”

[From GQ Hype]

I looooove it when a really handsome guy is like “I was a chubby goth kid and a late bloomer.” Justice for goth kids who grow up to be cool and handsome! From a PR perspective, I think Paul is playing this correctly – it’s a modern-day “a star is born” moment and he’s making all of the right moves. I hope Hollywood takes serious notice of him and we get to see a lot more of him.

Cover courtesy of GQ, photos courtesy of Cover Images and FX.