JOSH RIVERA’S LATEST ROLE HAS BEEN A HIGH-INTENSITY WORKOUT. STARRING AS A LEAD IN AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: AARON HERNANDEZ – A NEW FX SERIES FROM RYAN MURPHY – WAS CHALLENGING BOTH WHEN IT COMES TO THE SHEER AMOUNT OF SHOOTING HOURS (AND THE DAILY CALORIE INTAKE TO BULK UP), AS WELL AS THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE DEPICTED SUBJECT MATTER. AFTER ALL, HOW EASY CAN IT BE TO PLAY SOMEONE WHO IN THE MINDS OF MANY IS A HOT-HEADED AND RUTHLESS KILLER? IN HIS PORTRAYAL, RIVERA SUCCEEDS IN SHOWCASING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INFAMOUS NFL PLAYER – AN INSECURE YOUNG MAN WHO FEARS THAT HIS SEXUALITY WILL BE EXPOSED, AND WHO WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP HIS IDENTITY A SECRET. FOR BTB, RIVERA TELLS US ABOUT DIVING DEEP INTO HERNANDEZ’S TRAGIC LIFE STORY, FEELING AFFECTED WHILE FILMING THE BRUTAL SCENES, AND LEARNING HOW TO CATCH A BALL.

Left Full look **Loro Piana**
Right Top & pants **Lacoste**, shoes **John Lobb**

Hi Josh! I saw the first five episodes of the series and I’m completely hooked! I have been really interested in the case of Aaron Hernandez for a while now and I think you did a great job in capturing the intricacies of his tragic story.

Did you follow the trial along as it was happening?

I got into it when the Netflix documentary on the case came out in 2020.

That was my first exposure to it as well. I saw a bit of it because a buddy of mine was watching it at the time. But when I found out that this show was getting cast and they wanted to see me for it, I devoured it. And since then, I have watched it a few times, as well as listened to the podcast that it’s based on.

Once you were confirmed for the project, what was the preparation that you had to go through for the role?

It was so tough. The physical training wasn’t anything to write home about – it was four days a week. But I was eating a ton. I’ve never eaten so much. I had these meals prepared for me that were thousands and thousands of calories because the priority was that I get big.

Did you do a lot of football training as well?

Yeah, I worked with a company called Game Changers Sports. They had coaches that taught me a lot of techniques. I used to play football in high school but I was in a different position – I was a linebacker and a guard, and Aron was a tight end. I’d never had to catch a ball in my life. I was terrible at it [before this].

Top **Zadig&Voltaire**, pants and coat **Prada** & shoes John Lobb

Would you say you know how to catch a ball now?

I’m certainly better at it. That said, whenever we had the sexy, one-handed catches, that was somebody else. I didn’t do that. I can’t do that stuff. [Laughs]

In the process of learning Aaron’s story, what were some facets of him that you discovered that you found particularly helpful with your portrayal?

Coming from a place where I didn’t know much about his story except the fact that he committed a murder, something that stuck with me was how a lot of people said that he was a wonderful guy. A lot of people really liked him. They thought he was charismatic, easy to talk to, and lovable. That made me think a lot about the sides of a person and how one is inclined to act around people who could benefit his career, his friends, and his family, versus the people who might not mean much to him or who might not have any stake in his life. And I had to analyse that from my perspective. How do I treat people differently? How does my disposition change depending on who I’m talking to? I’m sure that some people think I’m funny, and some probably think I’m annoying. And I think in his case, that was probably a lot more of a spectrum compared to most people. We had access to some phone calls that he made in prison and you can hear the difference in the amount of tenderness towards some people, versus the amount of swag that he imbues in his speech depending on who he’s talking to. I thought that was really important to bring to the character because that’s what makes his outbursts and the sudden temperature changes make a little bit more sense.

Left Top **MSGM**, shorts & sock **Lacoste**, shoes **John Lobb**
Right Top **Zadig&Voltaire**, pants and coat **Prada**

Left Top **Zadig&Voltaire**, pants and coat **Prada** & shoes John Lobb
Right Sunglasses **Chanel** vintage

A lot of it was coming from these feelings of paranoia and being scared about his true self coming out. Was Aaron’s family involved in the process? Did you get in touch with them?

No, I didn’t feel that it would be conducive to building the character. It’s an adaptation and we cover many areas that are largely speculative and not publicly known on a factual level. And so that required that I build something from the ground up, so I didn’t want to complicate it with that resource.

Which scenes or episodes did you find most challenging to work on?

I have never been a lead on a show before, so I was very surprised at how much goes into that and the sheer amount of effort it takes to be present with the kind of hours [that I was doing]. Something that was really difficult for me to film were the Odin [Lloyd, a player that was murdered by Hernandez] scenes – those really affected me on an emotional level, not in an “acting challenge” way. It was difficult to absorb the gravity of these kinds of things that are happening in the world. Re-enacting on such a level… It was hard to be the perpetrator. And I’ve never really felt that way before because I [usually] have a very good grasp on acting as pretend. It really affected me and it made it difficult to proceed, but I think the show turned out the way that it was meant to.

I think that it does a great job of showcasing all of the complexities of his situation for sure. Following this high-intensity experience, what are you craving right now in terms of roles?

Something funny. [Laughs] Looking back, I’m always the guy that everybody feels bad for or most horrible things happen to. I just wanna crack some jokes, you know?

Left Full look **Loro Piana**
Right Full look **Lacoste**

Interview by Martin Onufrowicz

Photography by Ritchie Jo Espenilla

Fashion by Aryeh Lappin

Grooming by Jessica Ortiz

DOING IT JUSTICE

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