‘Love Story’ Star Alessandro Nivola on That “Breakup Scene” With Carolyn Bessette and His Closest Encounter With the Real Calvin Klein

Portraying Calvin Klein — a name nearly everyone knows and a designer who defined minimalist fashion in the 1990s — is no small feat, but Alessandro Nivola was up for the challenge.

Klein is also largely responsible for launching the career of another fashion icon: Carolyn Bessette. And while FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette mainly focuses on the relationship — and tragedy — of JFK Jr. (played by Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon), viewers also get a glimpse of Carolyn’s life before she met John, when she lived in New York’s East Village and worked for Calvin Klein. He also played a role in bringing the couple together.

The first six episodes depict Carolyn’s working relationship with Calvin, her rise through the ranks at the fashion company, and the two’s real friendship. “There was a platonically romantic element to it,…