In the May 14 episode of his “New Heights” podcast, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce admitted he was “kinda blown away” when “Grotesquerie” director Ryan Murphy offered him a role on the series. “I feel like an amateur. And, uh, I haven’t gotten fired yet so we’re doing good,” he explained. “They haven’t told me to f—ing kick rocks after the first week, so it’s been awesome.”
Kelce also hinted at an exciting season. “I don’t want to give too much away, but the name itself can tell you it’s quite a mystery and every scene has just been so much fun to be in,” he continued. “I’m just taking it scene by scene and trying to make sure that I remember my lines. I’m very amateur at this.”
The football star also admitted he was surprised to be in the position he’s in. “I was kinda blown away and kinda, like, shocked that he was willing to give me a role like this, because it is a big role on the show,” Kelce said. “He seemed very confident that I’d be able to do this and he kinda injected that in me the first conversation that we had. So hopefully I don’t bomb this for him.”
News that Kelce had joined the cast of “Grotesquerie” was announced on May 7. The series, which also stars Niecy Nash-Betts and Lesley Manville, will debut this fall. The role is Kelce’s first scripted production.
Kelce told reporters in January 2024 that he was interested in pursuing acting roles after retirement. “I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera,” he said. “The ‘SNL’ stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and a new career path for me, but it’s funny for me to even say that at this point in my career because I think it’s so much further down the road than it is right now.”
Watch the podcast episode in the video above.
