Noah Fearnley: Ryan Murphy's 'Love Story' star

Markos Papadatos interviewed Noah Fearnley about starring in Ryan Murphy’s new anthology series “Love Story,” which premiered on February 12th on FX, Hulu, and Disney+.

"Love Story" is already the No. 1 show on Disney+ and Hulu, and rightfully so.

American author Norman Vincent Peale once said: “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” This quote applies to Noah Fearnley.

This marks the first installment in Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story” anthology series, and it was inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.”

Connor Hines created this show, and he also served as a screenwriter and executive producer.

Synopsis of ‘Love Story’

The synopsis is: John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) was the closest thing to American royalty. The country watched him grow from a boy to a beloved bachelor and media sensation. Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) was a star in her own right.

Fiercely independent and with a singular style, she rose from being a sales assistant to a publicity executive at Calvin Klein, and became a trusted confidante of its eponymous founder.

Fearnley plays the role of Michael Bergin, who was Carolyn Bessette’s love interest prior to John F. Kennedy Jr.

Noah Fearnley delivers a true breakout performance as Michael Bergin, where he pulls off subtle acting work that showcases his charm and charisma; moreover, Fearnley is given a nice arc that will resonate well with fans and viewers. It is evident that a star is born.

Working with Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette

On working with Sarah Pidgeon, Fearnley remarked, “It was incredible! Sarah is a star. She has this underlying confidence to her. Initially, I was very nervous to work with her but she is one of the nicest people in the world.”

“Coming from the vertical drama world, where you are filming 110 or 120 pages of scripts, I have done a lot and I have played the lead male many times,” he noted.

“I am not really nervous when I walk on those sets; I have a lot of confidence; however, Sarah Pidgeon made me nervous because she is just so amazing as an actress,” he elaborated.

“Sarah is just fascinating to watch in this series,” he admitted.

Working with Paul Anthony Kelly

On working with Paul Anthony Kelly, he stated, “Paul is one of the nicest guys in the world too. The casting was immaculate; the two of them were absolutely incredible together as JFK Jr. and Carolyn.”

“They are just good people, and then you put them in these two roles that are iconic, and it was just wonderful to watch,” he added.

Playing Michael Bergin in ‘Love Story’

Fearnley and his real-life character Michael Bergin have a similar trajectory… Michael Bergin is from Connecticut (as is Fearnley), and started his career as a fashion model and then he transitioned into acting (“Baywatch”). 

“We are both from Connecticut. I just felt some type of connection to his story about being in the industry,” Fearnley said. “It was so weird because our lives were so similar… how we grew up, the restaurants he used to go to as a kid, his parents, and his family.”

To get into character, Fearnley also read Michael Bergin’s book, “The Other Man: A Love Story – John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and Me,” which Fearnley praised for being a “great book.”

“I have done so much research on him and learned so much about him, and I read his book,” Fearnley said.

“I loved playing Michael Bergin,” he exclaimed. “I became a huge fan of his. I deep dove into his life, and I became intrigued and fascinated by Michael.”

Fearnley on being on a Ryan Murphy anthology series

On being a part of a Ryan Murphy anthology series, Fearnley stated, “‘Love Story’ is a Ryan Murphy show, which is incredible in itself. Ryan Murphy is an absolute icon, and I watched his shows my entire life growing up.”

“Ryan Murphy gave me the privileged opportunity to portray Michael Bergin, and I deep dove into everything that I could, and what I discovered, I loved how similar we were,” Fearnley said.

“It was just a fascinating experience to be in a situation like that, where I was able to play a real person. That is something I had not done before,” he admitted.

“So, just to have the ability to play somebody in real life… that is experience in itself,” he added.

Lessons learned from the show and the screenplay

On the lessons learned from the screenplay, Fearnley reflected, “The screenplay taught me a lot about the ‘90s, and all the things that happened during that era.”

“I learned a lot from the directors too,” he said. Jesse Peretz was awesome to work with, and so was Max Winkler, who taught me to just be in the moment. So, that was really awesome.”

Closing thoughts on ‘Love Story’ anthology series

For fans and viewers, Fearnley said, “What I want people to get out of this is series is that the John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette story is never going to pass.”

“It’s an iconic story from the nineties. It’s never going away. It’s something that in ingrained in American society and American pop culture. It just is what it is, and it is never going away,” he noted.

“I think the show was a reminder of that time, and those two incredibly iconic individuals,” he said.

“Then, from Michael Bergin’s perspective, Michael did have a story with Carolyn,” her underscored. “As much as people might want to push it to the side, there was a story with Michael… it all comes down to what people want to believe, and that’s okay.”

“Everyone can have their own perspectives, and that is totally fine,” Fearnley acknowledged.

“While I was portraying Michael, I wanted to make sure that I respected the story of the two iconic people (John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette) the show is about, but I also wanted to show Michael the proper respect and dignity that his story deserves as well,” Fearnley concluded.

To learn more about actor Noah Fearnley, follow him on Instagram.

Photography: Kevin Roldan