Actor Josh Rivera, who plays disgraced NFL star Aaron Hernandez in FX’s new biopic series American sports history, told Newsweek that contacting members of the New England Patriots franchise or the late tight end’s family ahead of the controversial role might have “complicated” things.

Before the first two episodes of the Ryan Murphy drama premiered on Tuesday, 29-year-old Rivera said Newsweek that he had limited knowledge of Hernandez’s fall from grace before accepting the role on the show, which “traces the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture.”

When asked whether the West Side Story When Rivera reached out to anyone who knew Hernandez personally or professionally, he responded, “I didn’t have that resource.”

“I also felt like there were elements of it that might have made the process a little bit more complicated, because when you already have consultants and advice on a story that’s as complicated as this, it’s like you have people who are on board and want the story to be portrayed in a certain way,” he continued.

“It was kind of nice not to really have the opportunity to do that because it allowed me to take all the information I had and try to shape it the way I saw it,” Rivera explained, admitting that he was initially “really nervous” about taking on such a highly scrutinized character.

“I looked at it as objectively as I could. When I started, I didn’t really know much about it, so I was seeing a lot of this information for the first time, which I think was helpful, kind of experiencing it in a vacuum, without the input of people who are very passionate about it.”

Rivera continued, “The way I look at it is: I’ve been given all this information and learned about this person, and my job is to tell that story as best as I can. That’s kind of the beginning and the end of it for me. I just hope people can understand that I did the best I could.”

Story by Aaron Hernandez

Hernandez was one of the most promising tight ends and formed one of the most dangerous tight end duos in NFL history with Rob Gronkowski, who caught passes from the legendary Tom Brady for the Patriots. But his football career ended abruptly and shockingly in 2013 when he was arrested and charged with the murder of his former friend Odin Lloyd, who may have known Hernandez’s dark secret of being attracted to men. After his arrest, the Patriots released Hernandez from the team.

In 2015, Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Two years later, Hernandez was acquitted of double murder charges related to a 2012 case, but just days later he was found dead in his prison cell; he had committed suicide.

Hernandez was implicated in the July 2012 murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, who were shot in a drive-by shooting in Boston. Hernandez was eventually charged with the murders in 2014, but was acquitted in April 2017, just days before his death. Prosecutors argued that Hernandez shot the men after one of them accidentally spilled a drink on him at a nightclub.

Social Media and Aaron Hernandez

Social media was not as widespread as it is today when Hernandez committed his crimes. In the advance screenings of American sports history provided to Newsweek.

When asked how the football player’s life might have been different in the age of social media, Rivera hypothesized, “I imagine he probably would have been suspended a little more often from college and professional games.”

“Perhaps if more people had been recording the whole time, people would have been less shocked and surprised by the whole thing,” he continued. “I think that was a big part of what made the story so complex: It seemed like no one had any idea that something like this was even remotely possible, let alone likely.”

“Given the impulsiveness of the character, I don’t know if it would have changed his actions significantly, but I think the public perception of the matter might have been a little different,” Rivera concluded.

Any similarities to Aaron Hernandez

“We both smile a lot. I realized very early on that I use the smile as a kind of defense mechanism. That’s all,” grinned Rivera, adding that he brought “a real boyishness” to his portrayal of Hernandez.

New episodes of American Sports History: Aaron Hernandez airs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on FX until the season finale on November 12. Episodes can also be streamed on Hulu.

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