&34;I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks,&34; the actor revealed. Paul Anthony Kelly details the intense process of becoming JFK Jr. for Love Story &34;I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks,&34; the actor revealed. By Marina Watts Marina Watts Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek. EW's editorial guidelines June 8, 2026 6:40 p.m.

"I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks," the actor revealed.

Paul Anthony Kelly details the intense process of becoming JFK Jr. for Love Story

"I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks," the actor revealed.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 8, 2026 6:40 p.m. ET

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Paul Anthony Kelly; John F. Kennedy Jr. Credit:

Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

- Paul Anthony Kelly is getting candid about what it took to transform into John F. Kennedy Jr. for *Love Story*.

- "I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks," he admitted.

- Kelly also had to learn how to do everything left-handed, since JFK Jr. was left-handed.

Paul Anthony Kelly had to expedite his preparation to play John F. Kennedy Jr. on *Love Story*.

The *Love Story *star talked about how he transformed into the political scion for the Ryan Murphy-produced series while sitting down with *The Pitt *star Patrick Ball for *Variety *and CNN's Actors on Actors series. Kelly revealed that he had "three weeks to prepare" for his role as JFK Jr. when he was hired.

The Canadian had only appeared as a model in the past and finally broke through after "13 years of auditioning" and considered "giving up" before this audition came along.

"Ryan Murphy and his team took all the thinking away," Kelly said. "Once they hired me, they got me a dialect coach because I’m Canadian — I have a totally different speech pattern to John F. Kennedy Jr. I had to learn everything about him — the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks."

Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. on 'Love Story'.

Kelly added that an acting coach and physical trainer were hired as well. "I had to get a little bit bigger. John was a very active guy. He was always running, always biking, Rollerblading, working out," he said.

Kelly also mentioned getting the timber of JFK Jr.'s voice just right by listening to him narrate his father John F. Kennedy's book* Profiles in Courage.* "I listened to that almost religiously," he shared. "Every morning when I’d wake up, I’d be on the treadmill listening to it, in the shower or whatever. I’d listen to it between takes, just to get into his rhythm and flow and speech patterns."

Learning the choreography of JFK Jr.'s movements was also key. "I was a model before, so I’ve got pretty good control of my body," he admitted. "I would watch old *Entertainment Tonight* clips."

See the cast of 'Love Story' side-by-side with the real Kennedys and Bessettes

Did 'Love Story' just address the infamous 'Kennedy curse'?

Perhaps one of the more challenging things Kelly learned for the role was spending six months as a "left-handed individual." He cooked, ate, shook hands with other people, and even played football left-handed.

"But it was so cool to put the blinders on and focus a thousand percent on one thing," he said. "I’d never had that experience of breathing life into an idea; I just wanted him to be a regular guy."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

*Love Story *is a dramatization of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's whirlwind relationship. The couple, who are considered American royalty, met in the 1990s and got married in 1996. The world was enraptured by Kennedy and Bessette (portrayed on the series by Sarah Pidgeon), who were constantly trailed by the paparazzi and scrutinized by the tabloid media.

Kennedy and Bessette, along with her sister Lauren Bessette, died in July 1999 in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

John F. Kennedy Jr. in New York in 1986.

Sonia Moskowitz/Getty

Joining Kelly and Pidgeon on *Love Story* are Naomi Watts, Grace Gummer, Constance Zimmer, Ben Shenkman, and Alessandro Nivola.

All episodes of *Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette *are available to stream on Hulu.

Watch Paul Anthony Kelly and Patrick Ball's full Actors on Actors conversation below.

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Source: Actors

Published: June 9, 2026 at 01:57AM on Source: RED MAG

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