Meet Alessandro Nivola, who plays Calvin Klein in Love Story, starring Sarah Pidgeon

Mar 20 , 2026

Alessandro Nivola, who plays Calvin Klein in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story, wears the designer to the show’s premiere in February, in New York. Photo: @alessandro.nivola/Instagram

The Boston native debuted on Broadway opposite Helen Mirren before his breakout on-screen role as Nicolas Cage’s unhinged brother in Face/Off

Alessandro Nivola takes on the role of American fashion designer Calvin Klein – Carolyn Bessette’s former boss – in Ryan Murphy’s hit TV anthology Love Story. The series, which dramatises the tumultuous relationship of the former Calvin Klein publicist and John F. Kennedy Jr, also sheds light on the designer’s relationship with Bessette and marriage to Kelly Klein.

Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein in episode five of Love Story. Photo: @alessandro.nivola/Instagram

In episode six (spoiler alert) viewers see Bessette deliver what, to Klein, is the ultimate betrayal – her resignation. And with only three episodes left in the series after that, viewers have been on the edge of their seats for the ill-fated ending that we all know is coming. At the same time, fans are ready for Nivola’s Calvin Klein to get a spin-off series of his own.

Here’s what to know about Alessandro Nivola.

His breakout role was in Face/Off

Alessandro Nivola’s Calvin Klein is a fan favourite, with Love Story devotees already clamouring for the actor’s character to get his own spin-off series. Photo: Instagram

Alessandro Nivola was born in June 1972, in Boston. His paternal grandfather was the Italian sculptor and muralist Costantino Nivola.

He graduated from Yale with a degree in English in 1994, and made his Broadway debut a year later opposite Helen Mirren in A Month in the Country, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination.

The actor went on to land various TV projects, but it was his breakout role as the unhinged younger brother of Nicolas Cage’s character in 1997’s Face/Off that really launched his career.

Nivola is known for his roles in American Hustle (2013), Disobedience (2017) and The Brutalist (2024), which won three Oscars.

Meet Alessandro Nivola, who plays Calvin Klein in Love Story, starring Sarah Pidgeon

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Boston native debuted on Broadway opposite Helen Mirren before his breakout on-screen role as Nicolas Cage’s unhinged brother in Face/Off

His breakout role was in Face/Off

The Boston native debuted on Broadway opposite Helen Mirren before his breakout on-screen role as Nicolas Cage’s unhinged brother in Face/Off