‘Love Story’ actor Paul Anthony Kelly discusses tackling John F. Kennedy Jr., the 1990s New York he must embody

An interview released Tuesday by Deadline in its Contenders TV coverage highlighted actor Paul Anthony Kelly’s work on the upcoming television drama Love Story and his approach to portraying John F. Kennedy Jr., the late public figure known worldwide. Kelly, speaking about the role, said he understood from the start that playing a historical individual would be difficult and that the part comes with scrutiny because of how familiar the person is to the public.

In the interview, Deadline framed the discussion around the demands of stepping into a recognizable American figure and the production work required to sustain that likeness on screen. Kelly pointed to the historical and cultural weight of the character, describing the role as challenging precisely because Kennedy Jr. has been known to audiences since early childhood, when he was “just a little boy learning to walk,” and because the public has grown up with that image.

The conversation also focused on the period texture Kelly said the series is aiming to capture, including the “fights” and “fashion” of the story and “the new York of the ’90s.” Deadline’s interview package positioned those elements as part of the actor’s task, connecting performance choices to the broader visual and thematic environment the show is designed to evoke.

Kelly’s comments, as presented in Deadline’s Contenders TV segment, underscored that historical portrayals are not limited to appearance or mannerisms. Rather, he described the work as requiring ongoing effort to fit a real person into a fictional narrative structure without losing credibility with viewers who already know the public record and the cultural mythology surrounding the figure.

Deadline’s write-up identified the interview as part of its studio roundups connected to television awards-season visibility, using the Contenders TV branding and the publication’s video-interview format. The article did not, in the text provided, specify additional production credits beyond the role and did not outline a release date or plot specifics beyond the thematic emphasis on 1990s New York and the story’s conflicts and style.

Taken together, the interview provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Kelly is approaching a high-profile historical character in a period-driven television project, with the actor emphasizing the intrinsic difficulty of portraying someone whose image is already deeply embedded in public consciousness. The immediate next step for audiences is to watch how the series translates those stated priorities, especially the period details and the character work that Kelly described as essential to the role.