Stars reunite on red carpet for JFK Jr. series

Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly were back together again on Wednesday evening, as they joined the cast of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette for an FYC event in .

The two stars have shot to prominence for starring as the leads in the biographical drama anthology series chronicling the late couple's high-profile courtship and volatile marriage.

And they looked in high spirits to be reunited once more alongside their co-stars  Constance Zimmer, Grace Gummer, and Alessandro Nivola at the awards promo event.

After sporting a number of Carolyn's most iconic looks, Sarah, 29, looked to have been influenced by the fashion executive's signature style, as she put on an effortlessly chic display.

The actress created a classic elegant silhouette with a pair of on trend balloon jeans with a structured black blazer, plunging daringly low.

While she elevated the sleek and simple look with bright red heels for a pop of colour and a sophisticated grey scarf tied around her neck.

After winning rave reviews for his remarkable resemblance to JFK Jr., Paul, 37, ditched the clean cut look he'd sported to play the son of the late president for a neatly-trimmed beard.

The actor cut a stylish figure in a check patterned jacket over a plain black T-shirt and matching jeans, and further distinguished himself from John with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.

Naomi, 57, displayed her sartorial prowess as she arrived in a chic boat neck-style and light mauve dress, draped across her slender frame.

The two-time Oscar nominee - who stars in the series as John's mother and former First Lady, Jackie Kennedy Onassis  - added contrast with a black clutch and bright orange shoes.

JFK Jr.'s sister Caroline Kennedy is played in the show by , 39, who commanded attention on the red carpet in an eye-catching outfit.

The actress oozed dramatic flair in a long blue blazer-style dress with a wide front-slit to reveal a pair of matching velvet trousers underneath.

While Constance, 55, who plays Carolyn's mother, Ann Messina Freeman, in the Hulu hit, dazzled in smart black trousers and a matching blazer with the bottom buttons left open to flash a racy glimpse of her toned stomach.

Alessandro was typically dapper for the occasion in a simple black suit and white button-up shirt, after starring in the show as Calvin Klein, Carolyn's boss after she worked her way up to an executive after starting as a sales assistant.

The nine-part drama follows John and Carolyn's relationship, from the two meeting at a party to the deaths of the couple and her sister Lauren Bessette ( Lemmon) on July 16, 1999. 

They all died when a small plane piloted by Kennedy crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard. 

The synopsis reads: 'It was a love story that captured the attention of the nation: John F. Kennedy Jr. was the closest thing to American royalty. The country watched him grow from a boy to a beloved bachelor and media sensation. 

'Bessette was a star in her own right. Fiercely independent and with a singular style, she rose from being a sales assistant to an executive at Calvin Klein and became a trusted confidante of its eponymous founder. 

'John and Carolyn’s connection was immediate, electric and undeniable. As their love story unfolded on a national stage, the intense fame and media attention that came along with it threatened to rip them apart.'

It comes after Sarah reflected on the responsibility she felt to be as 'truthful as possible' in her portrayal of Carolyn as 'my way of honoring her'. 

She spoke about the pressure that comes from playing a real person, who was part of one of America's most famous romances - something that became more apparent after the first photos from filming sparked criticism online.

But she said that it served as a reminder of the emotional weight of taking on the part, and said that the fast-paced nature of shooting the series allowed her to get lost in the role more easily.

Speaking to People at Disney's Toast to Television event on Monday, Sarah said: 'I think it was an effort to just never really take my foot off the gas.

'I was in constant pursuit of trying to evoke her essence and stay true to the character that I had built off of all the research that I did on Carolyn. 

'So I think that was my way of honoring her -a constant pursuit of feeling like I was trying to be as truthful as possible with the script and then the knowledge that I had of her and marrying those together.'

'It's not just on your own inspiration to come up with a character, and there's a sense of responsibility to approach it with as much truth and integrity as one can,' she added.

'There was a pressure, I think, on it and an awareness that you were playing a real person.'

Speaking on the initial backlash the series received over the first photos from production, she said it underlined to her just how important it was to get this right.

'It reinforced and reminded me of just how beloved these people are, and people are protective of their story' she said. 'It reminded me of the weight of this responsibility and wanting to do these people justice.' 

Yet Sarah gushed over her Love Story experience, revealing she'd love to work with creator Ryan Murphy again and saying it was 'really great to play a young woman with so much sort of ferocity in her protection of her friendships, her private life.'

'She had very strong opinions, very self-possessed, and I don't know if Sarah always exhibits those qualities,' she added. 

'And to be able to embody someone with the fearlessness that she did that she had... I hope that it rubbed off on me. I mean, it was wonderful to be able to play that sort of without abandon.'

However, the series has sparked much backlash from several of the people depicted in the show and the friends and family members of the couple.

JFK Jr.'s nephew Jack Schlossberg, slammed executive producer Ryan Murphy for 'making millions' off his uncle's legacy in a 'grotesque' way and for allegedly never consulting the family about his plans for the series.

'If you want to know someone who's never met anyone in my family - knows nothing about us - talk to Ryan Murphy,' he fumed on CBS Mornings.

'The guy knows nothing about what he's talking about and he's making a ton of money on a grotesque display of someone else's life.

Jack has called on Ryan to donate his proceeds from the show to 'some of the causes that John championed throughout his life' or 'to the JFK Library to help keep President Kennedy's memory alive'.

And he has taken the producer to task over not following through, saying: 'You're making millions off John, making a public spectacle of it but won't contribute any of your riches to the causes he championed, or the legacy of public service he represented.'

Ryan hit back by claiming that Jack didn't have a right to be cross because he had been only six years old when his uncle's tragic death captivated the nation, saying it was an 'odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don´t remember.'

But Jack - who is running for Congress - quickly rebutted that notion, taking to Instagram to respond: 'Hey @ryanmurphyproductions: My earliest memories are of John calling me Jackolatern and 'the nudist,' picking me up from school, his Pontiac convertible.

'I remember being the ring bearer at his wedding and the day he died. I remember Wyclef [Jean] singing at his funeral. 

'More memories are passed down from stories — like the time he locked himself out of a car in an intersection and asked the guy screaming at him if he could borrow a golf club to smash the window to get the keys, and then did it.'

Actress Daryl Hannah has slammed her depiction as John Jr's on-off girlfriend in the anthology series in a New York Times essay last month.

In the explosive piece, she accused the show of characterizing her as 'irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate' and insisted that it was 'not even a remotely accurate representation of her life, her conduct or her relationship with John.'

'I have generally chosen not to respond to media coverage of me. I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it,' she began,

'But a recent tragedy-exploiting television series about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette features a character using my name and presents her as me. 

'The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident.'

'Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device,' she continued.

'There is also a gendered dimension to this thinking. Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains. Isn't it textbook misogyny to tear down one woman in order to build up another?

'It's appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct - and they are false.'

The actress noted that the show's 'dramatization' has 'real-life consequences' and said she has received 'many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual.