American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez (TV Program)

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    After Channeling Rob Gronkowski on TV, He’s Taking On ‘Travis Kelce’

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    The actor Laith Wallschleger was playing college football a decade ago. Now he’s playing some of the best tight ends in N.F.L. history.Before his current career as a stuntman, voice-over artist and actor, Laith Wallschleger was a defensive end at the University of Delaware. That college football experience came in especially handy this year, when Wallschleger portrayed onscreen versions of the tight ends Rob Gronkowksi and Travis Kelce, who have seven Super Bowl rings between them.Wallschleger drew praise, including from the actual Gronk, for his exaggerated capturing of Gronkowski’s jolly, party-loving demeanor in a few brief scenes in “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” the Ryan Murphy dramatization series on FX and Hulu about Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who was convicted of murder.This week, Wallschleger will star in a Lifetime movie, “Christmas in the Spotlight,” as a fictional football player who is courting a pop singer. The film was loosely inspired by the real-life events surrounding the subtle but then not-so-subtle start of Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift.Wallschleger, 32, minored in theater in college and has known the Gronkowksi family for more than 10 years. In an interview, he discussed what it was like to play both athletes and how he hoped Swift’s passionate fan base would respond to his performance as a pretend Kelce.Excerpts from the conversation have been edited for length and clarity.Wallschleger as Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.”FXHow did you prepare to portray Gronkowski given that you guys already have a personal friendship?Being such close friends over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time together, so I’ve seen a hyped-up Gronk, chill Gronk, maybe even moody Gronk and all the different shades. I listened to a lot of podcasts that he was on just to get the voice and the mannerisms down. He’s got an interesting voice. It’s like a cross between a Buffalo and New York twang, and he’s got a little bit of a lazy tongue, too, so it was tricky trying to get that down.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ Premieres on FX and Hulu

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      The buzzy FX series delves into the N.F.L. star who murdered a friend less than a year after playing in the Super Bowl.The saga of Aaron Hernandez has riveted the sports world and beyond for more than a decade. An N.F.L. star on one of football’s best teams killed a man in 2013 even as he chased fame and glory on the field.Two years after his conviction in 2015, Hernandez hanged himself in prison, leaving unexplained his descent into crime, rumors about his sexuality, and how he was able to hide his off-field life while thriving at America’s most popular sport.Hernandez has been the subject of multiple books, true crime podcasts and documentaries. But his story is getting the Ryan Murphy treatment in a new 10-part anthology series, “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” premiering on Tuesday on FX and Hulu. Its showrunners are trying a playbook similar to one used for dramatizations of other well-known scandals like “The People v. O.J. Simpson” and “Impeachment,” about former President Bill Clinton’s sexual improprieties. But this time, they’re grappling with new terrain: pro football.Nina Jacobson, an executive producer of “American Sports Story,” said showrunners hoped to offer viewers a “more subjective experience,” rather than a rehashing of previously reported events.“I think we try, in all of these shows, to find a way to put people in the shoes of the characters and put themselves in the eye of the storm — not in a way to excuse anybody’s voices or behaviors,” she said, “but to give people a chance to maybe see them in a different light.”Ahead of the first installment, here are the key points to know about Aaron Hernandez’s football career and murder case, and the TV drama that will depict them.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More