‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ Cast Guide: Meet the Actors Who Play Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and More Real-Life Athletes

Josh Rivera (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”) stars as Aaron Hernandez, the titular character in the series. The real-life Aaron Hernandez suffered physical abuse for years at the hands of his father, who pushed him to excel at sports. According to his brother D.J. Hernandez, Aaron was continually molested during his childhood by a teenager. He went on to play football at the University of Florida and was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. In August 2012, the team signed Aaron to a five-year, $39.58 million contract extension but later released him after news broke of his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd. In June 2013, Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder. In April 2017, he was found dead in his prison cell after having committed suicide.

Ross Jirgl (“Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch”) plays Tom Brady, the legendary Patriots quarterback and who many football fans consider to be the greatest player of all time. Brady and Aaron Hernandez were teammates on the Patriots from 2010-2012. “The bar for a Patriots tight end was pretty low back then: block, catch, don’t murder,” Brady joked in his comedy central roast in May 2024.

Laith Wallschleger (“Operation Dagon”) plays Rob Gronkowski, the former New England Patriots tight-end and teammate of Hernandez. Gronkowski played 11 seasons in the NFL for the Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won four Super Bowls with Brady over the course of his career. “Aaron was a great player,” Gronkowski said on the “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt” podcast. “He was a great football player. But … I get questions like that all the time, about him and everything. And, with everything going on, I was definitely shook when I heard that.”

Patrick Schwarzenegger (“Gen V”) is Tim Tebow, the former NFL quarterback who played for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars. Tebow and Hernandez were roommates and teammates back at the University of Florida. “It’s just heartbreaking and sad, and all my thoughts and prayers go out to all the families that were involved,” Tebow said of Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction in July 2013.

Norbert Leo Butz (“The Exorcist: Believer”) plays Bill Belichick, the former Patriots coach and general manager. Belichick coached Hernandez from 2010 to 2012. As general manager, Belichick reportedly denied a request from Hernandez to be traded to a west coast team during their tenure together. Following the former NFL tight-end’s arrest, Belichick forbade the team from speaking about Hernandez.

Tony Yazbeck (“Billions”) plays Urban Meyer, Aaron Hernandez’s former coach at the University of Florida. Meyer’s coaching tenure at Florida lasted from 2005-2010. Meyer reportedly warned NFL teams not to draft Hernandez, saying “look, this guy’s a hell of a football player, but he f—ing lies to beat the system and teaches all our other guys to beat the system. With the marijuana stuff, we’ve never caught this guy, but we know he’s doing it. … Don’t f—ing touch that guy.”

Jerry Levine (“Hawaii Five-0”) plays Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots. The real-life Kraft was very close with Aaron Hernandez and has admitted their relationship may have affected his judgement in regards to the latter’s behavior off the field. “Aaron and I, we had a genuine feeling of connection — and love. Every time he’d see me, he would kiss me on the cheek,” Kraft said in “At All Costs,” the sixth episode of Apple TV+’s “The Dynasty”. “I mean, this is something I do with my sons. I think he viewed me, you know, sort of as a loving paternal figure.”

Jaylen Barron (“Blindspotting”) plays Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, Aaron Hernandez’s former girlfriend and the mother of his child. The two met in elementary school but did not begin dating until the Hernandez was playing for the Patriots. They were engaged prior to the birth of their daughter and planned on having a 2014 wedding before Hernandez’s arrest. Jenkins-Hernandez condemned jokes at the expense of Hernandez from Brady and others at Tom Brady’s Comedy Central Roast. In 2023, she was accused of financially misspending the funds allocated for her daughter on self-care, including visits to hair and nail salons.

Tammy Blanchard (“Into The Woods”) plays Terri Hernandez, the mother of Aaron Hernandez. The real-life Terri Hernandez lives in Connecticut today and is still in a relationship with Jeff Cummings.

Ean Castellanos (“Five Days at Memorial”) plays Dennis John “D.J.” Hernandez, the brother of Aaron Hernandez. Dennis played football for five seasons at the University of Connecticut. He then went on to coach at Southington High School in Connecticut, as a graduate assistant at Miami and briefly as a quarterbacks coach at Brown University and tight-ends coach at the University of Iowa. In 2018, he published a book titled “The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother” under the name Jonathan Hernandez. Dennis is reported to have threatened to kill his estranged wife as well as her divorce lawyer. He was arrested and later charged with breach of peace in the second degree in 2023.

Lindsay Mendez plays Tanya Singleton, the older cousin of Aaron Hernandez. She is said to have been very close with Aaron and was accused of aiding him and his accomplices with the murder of Odin Lloyd. She was charged with conspiracy to commit accessory but all charges against Singleton were eventually dropped. She was battling cancer at the time of the trial. One of Aaron Hernandez’s cousins has said on record that his mother Terri had an affair with Singleton’s husband, Jeff Cummings. Singleton divorced her husband and Cummings later married Terri.

Scot Ruggles (“All American”) plays Steve Addazio, the former assistant coach to Urban Meyer at the University of Florida. Addazio managed to convince Hernandez to recommit from the University of Connecticut to the University of Florida during his high school recruitment cycle. Addazio now works at ESPN.