Paul Anthony Kelly as JFK Jr Paul Anthony Kelly reacted to internet discourse about his chest hair in an interview published Feb. 24<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n \u201cI keep it au natural,” said Kelly, who plays John F. Kennedy Jr. in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Kelly also said that he owns his hairy chest “in a time when everyone is hairless and beefy and ripped and whatever”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Paul Anthony Kelly<\/a>\u2019s chest hair may be the talk of the internet, but he\u2019s not just unbothered \u2014 he\u2019s owning it.<\/p>\n In a new cover story for GQ Hype<\/em><\/a> published Tuesday, Feb. 24, the model-turned-actor, 37, addressed the discourse surrounding his natural torso, which set social media ablaze after he debuted it in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Discussing the experience of being objectified \u2014 to the point where his personal grooming is the subject of online conversation \u2014 Kelly, who plays titular heartthrob John F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> in the FX limited series, told GQ<\/em>, \u201cListen, there\u2019s an ass for every saddle.\u201d<\/p>\n “We live in a time when everyone is hairless and beefy and ripped and whatever,\u201d he continued. But not him: \u201cI keep it au natural.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Anthony Kelly His experience as a model, Kelly told the outlet, \u201cprepared\u201d him in part to have his appearance picked apart.<\/p>\n \u201cI have chest hair, I own it. I don\u2019t really want to fit into anyone\u2019s mold,\u201d the actor told GQ<\/em>. \u201cI did that for so long being a model. I\u2019ve definitely had to shave it down for shoots and whatever and fit that mold. But now I\u2019m in the business of breaking that mold and creating my own\u2026. Maybe being objectified a little bit as a model and perhaps held at a certain degree prepared me for what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly’s chest hair was even a component of how the actor \u2014 who just announced that he became a dad after welcoming his first child<\/a> with wife Syd Widziszewski-Kelly<\/a> \u2014 was cast as JFK Jr. (who also had visible chest hair), one of the Love Story<\/em> executive producers previously told PEOPLE.<\/p>\n With just three weeks left before filming was set to begin, the team behind the series had yet to find the JFK Jr. to its Carolyn Bessette Kennedy<\/a>, portrayed by Sarah Pidgeon<\/a>. And part of the challenge was sourcing someone with a vintage swagger that is difficult to come by these days, according to producer Brad Simpson.<\/p>\n Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon in ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’ “Part of it was just that sort of ’80s, old school masculinity \u2014 a man with hair on his chest, sort of Richard Gere<\/a>, Tom Selleck<\/a>, the classic chiseled looks \u2014 we’re not making those guys anymore, for some reason,\u201d the executive producer told PEOPLE, \u201cand he really needed to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n Plus, it didn\u2019t help that the actor who fit the bill had to look just like JFK Jr. \u2014 who happened to be \u201cone of the most handsome men in America<\/a>.”<\/p>\n And Kelly didn\u2019t always have that look, according to his GQ Hype <\/em>profile, in which he revealed that he used to look more like a goth icon than the all-American heartthrob.<\/p>\n When he was first scouted to be a model at an American Apparel in Toronto, he recalled, \u201cI had Robert Smith hair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d he continued of his appearance at the time. But the talent scouts, he added, \u201csaw past it.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. in ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’ Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s\u00a0<\/strong>free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n Inspired by Elizabeth Beller\u2019s book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy<\/em><\/a>, Love Story <\/em>“explores the undeniable chemistry, whirlwind courtship and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century,” according to FX.<\/p>\n
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