Travis Kelce’s burgeoning acting career will include ‘Happy Gilmore 2′ and other projects

Travis Kelce is starting the transition from football star to Hollywood star.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end will make a cameo in “Happy Gilmore 2″ and he’s also reportedly landed a leading role in an upcoming comedy.
He won’t be the first athlete to embrace acting. Terry Crews did it. So did Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Even Shaquille O’Neal has dabbled with movies. Now, it’s Kelce’s turn.
The new acting gigs will be part of Kelce’s overall transformation into an A-list celebrity, which had begun even before his very public relationship with Taylor Swift.
Kelce waded into the television pool back in 2016 (he’s been dating Swift since September 2023) with the reality dating series “Catching Kelce.” The series followed Kelce’s effort to find a wife by dating a woman from every U.S. state, per NBC. We all know how that turned out.
He did the reality series to get his “face out from under the helmet,” Kelce told Vanity Fair in June 2023.
In 2020, Kelce made his acting debut with a role in Showtime’s “Moonbase 8,” but he was playing himself, per Newsweek.
Then, in March 2023, Kelce served as guest host of “Saturday Night Live.” The role put him on an exclusive list of 34 athletes who have hosted the sketch comedy series, per ESPN. According to “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels, Kelce was “a natural.”
“I think he killed it,” Michaels told Vanity Fair. “He’s a natural. He was a presence from the moment he walked out.”
Now, Kelce is taking his natural acting chops to the next level with a growing list of acting and producing opportunities.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show” this week, Adam Sandler confirmed that “Happy Gilmore 2″ is in the works and will feature a cameo from Travis Kelce.
“Travis has … he mentioned it, so we have a nice something for Travis,” Sandler said about Kelce’s appearance in the sequel. “He’s gonna come by. He’s a very nice guy. You guys would love him in real life. What a big, handsome guy. … He’s a stud and he’s so funny.”
Kelce previously said that he would do “anything” to get a role in one of Sandler’s films, per Variety.
“Anything to get around ‘Happy Gilmore,’ an Adam Sandler film or set — count me in,” Kelce said, per Variety. “I’ll do anything in the movie. I’ll be part of it any way I possibly can.”
The NFL star is also attached to the upcoming action-comedy “Loose Cannons,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie is about two unhinged officers who have to pair up in the wake of budget cuts within their precinct. They prove to be a dynamic duo, taking on cases no one else dares to touch.
Kelce has already started filming for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming horror series, “Grotesquerie.” Kelce’s role in the series is unclear, but he was seen on set in a clip posted by costar Niecy Nash.
Kelce will host the upcoming game series “Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?” which is a spinoff series to “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” per Amazon Studios. The 20-episode series premieres on Amazon Prime in October.
“I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with ‘Are you Smarter than a Celebrity,’” Kelce said in a statement, per Amazon Studios.
“The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining. I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
In addition to acting, Kelce is also expanding his Hollywood resume with a producing gig.
Kelce was named as an executive producer on the semiautobiographical movie, “My Dead Friend Zoe,” which tells the story of a veteran who is plagued by the loss of her platoon mate, per Indie Wire.
“The fact that Travis Kelce is an early investor, it’s not something I knew when we were shooting, but it’s fantastic because yes, it does mean there might be more eyes on it, and we want as many people to see this as possible because it is meant to help and serve,” Sonequa Martin-Green, who stars in the film, told Indie Wire.