\n<\/p>\n
In a society that loves to \u201cblur the line\u201d between man and woman, the result can be a strenuous casting process that might almost postpone production.<\/span><\/p>\n Take FX\u2019s \u201c<\/span>Love Story<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In the new show, viewers embark on the romantic yet tragic story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, America\u2019s most beloved couple in the 1990s. Ever k<\/span>nown for their iconic fashion and good looks, choosing the right actors was indeed going to be a high task at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n Executive producers Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson shared with <\/span>People<\/span><\/a> that selecting Sarah Pidgeon to play Bessette was a swift and easy choice: she \u201cjumped out and stole the role\u201d and immediately \u201cwon our hearts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But the same could not be said for Kennedy.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were three weeks away from shooting and we still [had] not cast him,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cWe\u2019d seen every male actor between the age of 25 and 38.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were about to shut down production and pause because we couldn\u2019t find him,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n The show\u2019s creator, Connor Hines, admitted he even sought out people on the street and at the gym to come read for the role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the problem wasn\u2019t that they didn\u2019t like their interviewees, Simpson said. There was something else missing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPart of it was just that sort of \u201980s, old school masculinity \u2014 a man with hair on his chest, sort of Richard Gere, Tom Selleck \u2014 the classic chiseled looks,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not making those guys anymore, for some reason, and he really needed to have that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In a GQ article<\/a>, Simpson elaborated further: \u201cIt\u2019s these men with broad shoulders and they are in shape, but they\u2019re in shape because they\u2019ve been throwing a football around, not because they\u2019ve been working on every muscle in their body for a Marvel movie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a world of electrolysis men, and it was a real challenge to find that sort of guy \u2014 a guy that women and gay men are attracted to, but also guys want to hang out and have a beer with.\u201d<\/p>\n Something needs to be said if even Hollywood starts admitting there\u2019s a masculinity problem.<\/p>\n The producers retraced their steps and considered the self-tapes they had already received, pulling out 13 new guys to come in and read. To their luck, Paul Anthony Kelly was among that group.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re crazy if you don\u2019t cast him,\u201d Simpson recalled a makeup artist saying as she walked past.<\/p>\n Beyond his similar look to JFK Jr. \u2014 tall height, handsome, and yes, even chest hair \u2014 Simpson said Kelly had an \u201cease and charm\u201d about him that was immediate. After a chemistry read with Pidgeon<\/span>, there was no doubt the producers had found their Kennedy.<\/p>\n Now, Kelly is marking his first major debut and becoming<\/a> his own American heartthrob.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n