JOSH RIVERA IS AARON HERNANDEZ IN AMERICAN SPORTS STORY
Most of American has heard of Aaron Hernandez by now either from the news or social media but you’ve never seen his story portrayed like this. Josh Rivera is the star of FX’s new drama series produced by the legendary Ryan Murphy, now available to stream everywhere. We sat down with Josh to learn all about how he prepared for this role, what to expect from the show and much more! Keep reading to learn all about America’s most thrilling drama and the star who portrays Aaron Hernandez.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
Talk to us about your new starring role as Aaron Hernandez in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, how did it come about?
One of the producers of the show, Nina Jacobson, had approached me while we were working on “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and asked if I knew much about the story. At that point I knew about as much as anyone who tuned into the news every so often. She insisted that I listen to the Boston Globe podcast about Aaron entitled “Gladiator” and told me about the show Ryan Murphy was working on and that I could potentially be good for it.
I listened to the podcast and watched the Netflix documentary on it and what was really surprising to me was the amount of layers that made the story. The more media I consumed of it, the more enthralled I was about the whole thing. I received a self-tape request for the role which I submitted while still filming in Berlin. Then after a few weeks, I was asked to fly out to Los Angeles for a screen test on the Fox lot. I went in and there were like 10 guys, all with shaved heads who looked kinda like me, and we all went in to audition one at a time.
After a while, a few guys, including myself, were asked to stay and a few of the other guys were let go. For the next portion, we each got paired with someone from a different group of guys, who all looked similar too and were reading for the Tim Tebow part. I was paired with Patrick Schwarzenegger and we read a scene together, which I thought went pretty well.
When we were done I packed up my stuff and said my goodbyes and as I was leaving the building, I got a text from Nina Jacobson saying, “can you come back for a minute? Ryan wants to ask you something”. Of course I immediately turned around and went back in the room and Ryan said something to the effect of, “This guy was pretty huge, do you think you can gain all that weight in time?” And without thinking whether or not I could, or how I would do it, I said, “yeah of course, that shouldn’t be too hard”. A little bit after that, I was told I got it.
How did you prep for this role mentally and physically, any specific method acting or research to bring this truth to the character?
There was a lot that I had to learn considering this is based on a real person. I consumed every resource publicly available regarding Aaron’s upbringing, career, trial, and time in prison and worked my way from there. I tried to pay attention to the way he talked to different people in his life and how his tone or level of swagger or tenderness may have varied depending on his relationship to whoever he was talking to. His kind of code switching and his relationship to masculinity were very helpful anchors for me.
I tried to use things like these to build a disposition that would ultimately become the foundation for the character and as far as the practice and application went, I just tried to be present and react the way I thought this person would react. The physical aspect of it is what I’ve been finding myself talking about most.
Obviously this person was a professional athlete and a very large guy. At the time I got the role I was just over 185 pounds, so I knew that I had some work to do. Production was able to set me up with an amazing trainer and I was pretty motivated by not wanting to make a fool of myself so I started working out as much as I could. I was in the gym about five times a week and pretty much ate as much as I could while supplementing that with shakes in between meals to keep myself at calorie surplus for a while. By the time we started shooting I had gained around 30 pounds.
What was your first acting job ever and how do you feel you have progressed as an actor over the years from Hamilton to Hunger Games?
My first paid gig was just after my junior year of high school. There was a show being workshopped in Boulder, Colorado that I was in the ensemble of. I don’t remember too much about the experience, but I do remember being spectacularly nervous. I had acted in my first ever show earlier that year for my high school, and heard about that gig through a friend of a friend so I was still very new to the whole thing.
It’s hard to say how I’ve progressed. I am much less nervous now, and feel like a more competent actor. But in many ways I still feel that I’m coming into my own. Every time I do something, I’m really just focused on doing it better than the last time I did it. I try to compete with myself in different ways. I can’t control the takes that get used, or the way the film is edited, but I can control the effort I put in. This show is by far and away the most effort I’ve put into a project, I’m very proud of that.
What advice would you give your 20 year old self?
Learn a skill that has nothing to do with performing and get really good at it.
Looking back at your early years as a theater kid, how did that journey help you to become the amazing actor you are today?
Thank you for the compliment. By some metrics, I was a latecomer into acting. I did my first show when I was 16, but before that I mainly liked to sing Pop and R&B music. I didn’t have an intimate connection to theater growing up. Honestly, I spent a lot of time moving around a lot when I was younger. I think because of that, I spent a lot of time taking in new surroundings and it became a habit to take inventory of what I thought about the transitions and why.
This more or less led to a curiosity about how people respond to different stimuli and why, which in many ways helps me out when I’m trying to make a character. I pursued a theater degree at Ithaca college which helped me with my stage presence and comfortability in front of an audience. It also taught me a lot about professional etiquette in a show or on set, and the kind of demand that goes into consistently performing at one’s best.
How is your creativity disrupting the world of theater and film and what do you want viewers to take away from this role you’re playing in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez?
Hard to say at this point exactly what effect my creativity is having in those worlds. Filming American Sports Story, I would come home from work every day asking myself a different set of questions. These ranged from things like, “What does carrying secrets do to a personality long term?”, or “What amount of myself can be changed by physical damage to my brain?”, “How strong or fragile is my sense of self, and What amount of tension would it take to break that?”.
The amount of layers in this story beg for several different kinds of questions. I would hope that everyone takes away different food for thought every episode. That being said, something that I believe is important for everyone who watches to think about, is the part we play as a society in making and breaking celebrities. What kinds of behavior do we enable and what kinds of issues do we cause others because of our ceaseless desire for entertainment and how do we go about tempering that?
You got tatted up for your role, do you have any real tattoos? If so, what is the significance of the one(s) you have?
I don’t have any tattoos. It was fun seeing what I would look like with tattoos though. Right now I can’t really think of any symbol or sign that I’m passionate enough about to get a tattoo of it.
What is your dream movie role to play and who would be your co-stars?
Morally ambiguous fantasy anti-hero. My co-stars would be all my childhood friends and Javier Bardem.
What is your favorite song of the moment?
Little More Time- Lucky Daye, Victoria Monet.
What is your favorite Puerto Rican food staple you can’t live without?
I don’t get to have it very often but I love pasteles when I can get them.
What’s the best advice you mom or abuela has ever given you?
Be kind to others and true to yourself.
You put on 30lb of muscle for the role of football player Aaron Hernandez, what was the craziest meal you had to get the muscle on?
It wasn’t so much the meals as it was drinking the shakes in between the meals. I would put a meal replacement powder, two scoops of protein, a banana, peanut butter, ice, and amino acids in a blender and drink those after breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was a LOT.
What is your favorite movie or TV show of all time?
Hard to answer because different genres fulfill different purposes for me. Not gonna lie though, I stand by the original 1976 “Rocky” being among my favorite and most re-watched movies. Favorite TV show might be “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
What is your signature fragrance? What is your skincare philosophy? What products do you swear by (skincare, beard care, etc.)?
I have a cleanser and moisturizer from Fresh skincare. When my beard is grown I use a standard beard balm. I also have a 64 oz bottle of water and try to go through two of those per day. Overall health and lifestyle choices are key to a healthy look, though skin products can be a good supplementation.
Do you remember your last dream? If so, tell us about it.
I don’t usually remember my dreams but when I do, they’re almost always completely ridiculous or completely mundane. Last night I dreamt I was in a heated argument with a taxi driver about the price of yogurt. I can’t imagine what sort of metaphor that could mean.
What is your go to café or restaurant in NYC?
I always recommend Bubby’s in Tribeca. They have the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life.
What is next for you on this journey in film? Any thoughts on directing or getting behind the camera too?
I’m hoping to try something with a little bit more levity next, but I’m always down to do something conceptually novel or interesting regardless of the genre. If the script is good I feel pretty flexible. I would LOVE to eventually get behind the camera and have the opportunity to be more hands on creatively. I’ve been consuming a lot of different IP lately, while also working through some original ideas with friends of mine who are like minded creators. At the moment I’m figuring out what developing something means for me. All in all, I’m excited for the next chapter. I feel that there’s a lot of possibility.
TEAM CREDITS:
Interview By Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Cover Art Design: Carlos Graciano (@sadpapi666)
Photographer: Tyler Patrick Kenny (@tylerpatrickkenny)
Wardrobe Stylist: Tabitha Sanchez (@tabithasanchez)
Grooming: Kaela Dobson (@kaeladobson)
Public Relations: Denisse Montfort (@42west)
Special thanks to 503DTLA (@503dtla) for the great space in NYC
