Paul Anthony Kelly covers the fall-winter 2026 issue of VMAN, photographed by Luigi & Iango and styled by Hunter Clem. The accompanying story, “Paul Presses Play,” arrives as Kelly transitions deeper into acting following more than a decade as a model.
Kelly’s transition gained considerable attention with his first official acting credit, playing John F. Kennedy Jr. in FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.” Talking to Niecy Nash, he addressed the assumptions that followed him from modeling into acting. “I was a model for a long time, and that kind of comes with the stigma,” Kelly explained of the difficulty models can face when trying to be taken seriously as actors.
Paul Anthony Kelly for VMAN
Kelly also credits modeling with preparing him for his new career. “Body movement, definitely. I think being a model for so long got me very comfortable in front of a camera, and there is something to telling a story in a two-dimensional image where you still have to emote.”
With Kelly currently filming the 13th season of American Horror Story, his career is already advancing past the Kennedy role. He describes his new character as “totally different,” relishing the greater freedom that comes with fiction.
VMAN also notes his upcoming appearance with Kirsten Dunst and Sydney Sweeney in “The Housemaid’s Secret.” Kelly has another part in mind for the future, telling Nash, “I really want to play a villain.” It is a fitting ambition for an actor eager to complicate the handsome leading-man image that first followed him from fashion into Hollywood.
