Is Travis Kelce Ready to Become a Movie Star? Hollywood Insiders Debate
As Kansas City Chiefs players continue to process their lopsided loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Hollywood insiders are watching to see whether Travis Kelce is ready to snag a coveted acting career.
The year has not quite gotten off to the start that Kelce might have expected. Although the star tight end — along with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the team — reached the Super Bowl with a chance to win a third straight championship, the Chiefs’ prolonged dominance saw some football fans turn on them or become convinced that refs give them more favorable calls. Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift was booed at the Super Bowl by a seemingly pro-Eagles contingent, while Kelce himself caused a social media stir ahead of the big game after calling it a “great honor” to have President Donald Trump in the stadium.
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It remains uncertain whether the 35-year-old Kelce is ready to hang up his cleats. (He didn’t address his playing future after the game, and Mahomes was uncertain about Kelce’s plans.) But the year will be a memorable one for Kelce’s pursuit of Hollywood projects. After making his acting debut last fall in Ryan Murphy’s FX series Grotesquerie and continuing to host Prime Video’s Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, Kelce will soon release his first film as an executive producer with the indie feature My Dead Friend Zoe. Then, he co-stars alongside Adam Sandler in the much-anticipated Netflix sequel Happy Gilmore 2.
Can Kelce successfully launch a Hollywood acting career? The Hollywood Reporter connected with a number of industry insiders, and there appears to be optimism about his chances, despite some hurdles.
“His acting was really good and funny, and he was just a genuinely nice guy,” Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan — who executive produces the Netflix sequel — tells THR of Kelce’s role in the new movie. “I met him for a day and a half, loved working with him, and now every time he catches a pass on TV, I say, ‘My best friend caught another pass.'”
The track record for athletes who have tried to segue into an acting career is a bit checkered. Other active athletes exploring a Hollywood path include LeBron James, who has established himself as a producer and has acted in such films as the Amy Schumer-led Trainwreck and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Similarly, fellow NBA standout Stephen Curry is a prolific producer and has starred in projects that include the Peacock series Mr. Throwback. Some of the most successful athletes in Hollywood have come from professional wrestling — which clearly involves a bit of acting prowess in itself — such as Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista and John Cena.
Casting director Matthew Barry, known for his work on hits like Rush Hour and The Notebook, can see Kelce’s skills appealing to those involved in high-profile projects. And Barry would know, having cast such athletes as NFL great Jim Brown in Mars Attacks!, hockey player Marty McSorley in Con Air and wrestler George “The Animal” Steele in Ed Wood.
“I love working with dancers and athletes,” Barry says. “They have discipline, they know routine, and you can work with that. If they have a personality, even better. Kelce has a great personality, and it shows in whatever he’s pitching — and that’s true for Patrick Mahomes as well.”
One former athlete who has steadily worked as an actor is retired NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha, a three-time Pro Bowl honoree who married Kerry Washington in 2013. His credits include starring opposite Tessa Thompson in the Amazon romance film Sylvie’s Love and landing a lead role alongside Jessica Chastain on the forthcoming Apple series The Savant.
Renowned acting coach Howard Fine — who has worked with public figures like Johnson and Will Smith when they were new to acting and continues to help clients like Austin Butler — praises Asomugha for taking classes for two years before seeking acting roles. “I have such respect for athletes because what they put themselves through is extraordinary,” Fine says of athletes’ work ethic. “Anybody who is going to come from a different area should respect the craft and get the training and then pursue the career. That’s not how everybody does it, but I think Nnamdi did it right.”
Among Kelce’s forthcoming projects is My Dead Friend Zoe, which hits theaters Feb. 28 from Briarcliff and stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Kelce, who does not appear in the movie that centers on a female Afghanistan vet, joined as executive producer just before it started production.
“When he came on as an investor and executive producer, it was so surreal, and we’re just all super grateful to have him part of the team,” says My Dead Friend Zoe writer-director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. “He could have selected any film, and he chose an independent film about veterans starring two women of color and starring a 90 percent veteran cast that has three nonprofits attached to it.”
Among the prominent athletes to have pursued an acting career is NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, known for his contributions to the Chicago Bulls’ championship runs in the ’90s. Rodman, who launched his acting career with a starring role opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 1997 action film Double Team, later starred in the 2007 comedy The Minis as a basketball legend convinced to coach a team of little people.
“I was aware that Dennis wasn’t a Shakespearean actor, but I felt he was the perfect choice for the role because of his personality and public image,” The Minis writer-director Valerio Zanoli explains. The filmmaker tells THR that he enjoyed Kelce’s performance in Grotesquerie and adds about the Chiefs star, “His looks and charisma make him stand out, and his dedication to the craft will most likely pay off as he acquires further experience and lands more roles.”
Kelce may have a leg up on some athletes who aspire to become thespians, given that he has extensive experience in front of the camera. In 2016, he was the star of the E! unscripted dating series Catching Kelce, which focused on him spending time with 50 women before choosing his romantic partner.
“As great of an NFL player as Travis is, he was that great as a reality star as well,” says Catching Kelce producer Sam Berns. “He was in it to be a part of it — with his time, with his energy. It was fascinating how much he got involved.”
After his turn in Grotesquerie, his cast gave praise, with co-star Niecy Nash-Betts telling THR at the time, “I thought that he did such a good job for this to be his acting debut.” (For his part, Kelce appeared proud of his work on the series and said on the New Heights podcast that he hosts with brother Jason Kelce: “They haven’t told me to fucking kick rocks after the first week, so it’s been awesome.”)
In general, acting coach Fine recognizes that athletes are encouraged to control their emotions while playing, while an actor actually needs to be in touch with their vulnerabilities. Additionally, Fine warns that any known figure transitioning to acting will be met with harsher standards from the public than a typical acting newbie.
“The public will automatically be skeptical,” Fine says of athletes taking on acting roles. “Are you just trying to trade in on your fame, or is this who you really are? Is this something you can really do? So you have to be actually even better.”
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