Love Story’s Paul Anthony Kelly Reacted To Comments About His Chest Hair

Paul Anthony Kelly isn’t sweating when it comes to comments about his chest hair. Yes, really. In a GQ cover story published on Feb. 25, the model-turned-actor addressed the discourse surrounding his body, which became a hot topic on social media when Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premiered, thanks to his historically accurate chest hair that recalls JFK Jr.

During the interview, Kelly opened up about his experience of being objectified as a result of the FX series’ success, with people even weighing in on his grooming habits. “Listen, there’s an ass for every saddle,” he quipped. “We live in a time when everyone is hairless and beefy and ripped and whatever. I keep it au natural. I have chest hair, I own it.”

Kelly went on to explain that his decades-long experience as a model helped him embrace his natural body and prepared him to deal with conversations that have come out from Love Story, which has elevated him to a new level of fame.

“I don’t really want to fit into anyone’s mold,” he said. “I did that for so long being a model. I’ve definitely had to shave it down for shoots and whatever and fit that mold. But now I’m in the business of breaking that mold and creating my own…. Maybe being objectified a little bit as a model and perhaps held at a certain degree prepared me for what’s next.”

While it’s sparked much discussion, Kelly’s torso was actually a key reason he was chosen to play John F. Kennedy, Jr. in the series. After weeks of struggling to find a suitable casting before filming began, Kelly’s look and swagger helped him get the role, as executive producer Brad Simpson told People.

“Part of it was just that sort of ‘80s, old school masculinity — a man with hair on his chest, sort of Richard Gere, Tom Selleck, the classic chiseled looks,” he said. “We're not making those guys anymore, for some reason, and he really needed to have that.”

That said, Kelly hasn’t always pulled off this old-school all-American look, telling GQ that he was a “true metalhead at heart” even in his modeling days. “I had Robert Smith hair,” he says. “I 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. And they saw past it.”