Travis Kelce won’t just be seen playing football this fall. He’ll also be seen playing a character on “Grotesquerie,” producer Ryan Murphy’s latest horror series, marking the NFL star’s first major foray into acting. In an Instagram post Tuesday, actor Niecy Nash-Betts shared a peek of the “Grotesquerie” set, along with a reveal of its surprise cast member. “Guys, guess who I am working with on ‘Grotesquerie’?” she said as she panned the camera to Kelce, who replied, “jumping into new territory.”
The series, expected to premiere on FX later this year, has just started production, Deadline reported on Tuesday along with confirmation of Kelce’s participation. The 34-year-old tight end, who just renewed his contract with the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs last week, has recently seen his popularity soar to meteoric heights, transcending sports fandom amid his public relationship with singer and TIME Person of the Year Taylor Swift. “This is what happens when WINNERS link up,” Nash-Betts, who was recently awarded a best supporting actress Emmy for her role in Netflix’s “Dahmer” (also created by Murphy), wrote in the caption of her Instagram post with Kelce.
Like many of Murphy’s other creations—which include “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story,” and “Feud”—details about the upcoming series have been shrouded in secrecy. Murphy’s production company released a teaser of the horror drama in February, revealing only the casting of Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Lesley Manville, displayed over an audio clip of a monologue by Nash-Betts’ character: “What I saw today… they sent shrinks for everyone who worked this crime scene.”
Kelce has been rapidly expanding his footprint in the entertainment scene. Last month, Amazon announced that he will be the host of all 20 episodes of Prime Video’s “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”—an upcoming spinoff of the game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” “I grew up loving game shows,” Kelce said at the time. “I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
Earlier this year, Kelce made his executive producing debut with “My Dead Friend Zoe,” a film that premiered at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March. He’s also helping to finance “King Pleasure,” a documentary about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Kelce made his acting debut in a brief appearance as a fictional version of himself in Showtime’s space comedy “Moonbase 8” in 2020. He hosted “Saturday Night Live” in March 2023 and reappeared on the sketch comedy show last October in a cameo alongside Swift. He previously starred in an eponymous reality TV dating series, “Catching Kelce,” in 2016, and he has co-hosted the football podcast “New Heights” with his brother, recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, since 2022.
Kelce reshared Nash-Betts’ Instagram video on his own account on Tuesday, seemingly embracing this next dramatic phase of his multifaceted career, with a caption that said: “Steppin into a new world with one of the legends!”
Travis Kelce’s foray into Hollywood continues with his first major acting job: a role in Ryan Murphy’s high-profile new FX horror series “Grotesquerie.” According to sources, the NFL star—and global celebrity due to his relationship with Taylor Swift—has been cast opposite Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Lesley Manville in the upcoming series, which has just started production. Reps for FX, Murphy, and producing studio 20th Television declined to comment.
As is the case with all Murphy projects, details about “Grotesquerie” are scarce, with no cast members beyond Nash-Betts, Vance, and Manville confirmed for the drama, slated for a fall premiere. The series debut is expected to coincide with the next football season, which will see Kelce return to the Kansas City Chiefs coming off the tight end and team’s third Super Bowl win in five years.
“Grotesquerie” is a follow-up to Kelce’s acting debut as host of “Saturday Night Live” in March 2023. He also made a cameo alongside Swift on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series this past fall. With his name gaining global recognition via his high-profile relationship with Swift, Kelce has been in demand. He has been open about his lofty Hollywood ambitions and has been branching out since signing with CAA last year.
Having previously dipped his toes in unscripted TV with his reality dating series “Catching Kelce,” which ran for one season in 2016, he recently signed on as host of Amazon’s “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” game show. Known for his “New Heights” podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother and former NFL center Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce also recently made his debut as an executive producer on the indie film “My Dead Friend Zoe,” which premiered at SXSW. He is set to produce an upcoming documentary on artist Jean-Michel Basquiat titled “King Pleasure.”
Following Deadline’s story, Kelce posted a video on his IG stories from the set. “Guys, guess who I am working with on ‘Grotesquerie,’” Nash-Betts says to the camera before Kelce joins her and says, “Coming into a new territory. With Niecy!” Nash posted several clips of her and Kelce from the set, including one of them in a car, and one after they had wrapped the night shoot, with Murphy giving Kelce a hug and telling him, “you were wonderful.” Nash asked Kelce how he feels, to which he responded, “I’m just glad I didn’t hurt nobody.”
Murphy is known for helping talent cross over to acting. Several years ago, he gave Lady Gaga her first major role on “American Horror Story: Hotel.” She went on to star in “A Star Is Born,” earning an Oscar acting nomination for her performance. Like Kelce, Gaga also had hosted “SNL” before getting a shot by Murphy.
“Grotesquerie,” which Murphy is doing with frequent collaborators Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken, released an all-text teaser in February. It included audio of Nash-Betts character, in which she says, “I don’t know when it started, I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s different now. There’s been a shift, like something’s opening up in the world—a kind of hole that descends into a nothingness.”
Travis Kelce is feeling very grateful for his role in Ryan Murphy’s FX horror series “Grotesquerie.” While Kelce knows his way around a football field, a filming set is new territory. But he opened up in a recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast about his experience on set so far, starring opposite Niecy Nash-Betts. “It’s been so much fun,” the three-time Super Bowl champion said. “Ryan Murphy is [an] unbelievable writer, director, producer, all of the above, man. He’s just—there’s nothing he can’t do and everybody’s just been so helpful in making me feel comfortable.”
He continued, “Even on top of that, just giving me kinda the direction I need and the coaching I need to portray this part that I’m in.” Although most details surrounding the series have been kept under wraps, Nash-Betts confirmed Kelce’s involvement earlier this month in an Instagram video. Courtney B. Vance and Lesley Manville are also in the cast.
Kelce later admitted that his lack of acting experience has made him feel like a “jabroni” amongst professionally working actors. “I feel like an amateur. And, uh, I haven’t gotten fired yet so we’re doing good,” he said. “They haven’t told me to fucking kick rocks after the first week, so it’s been awesome.” When his brother Jason Kelce attempted to get the Kansas City Chiefs star to spill some details surrounding the show, he said he didn’t “want to give too much away” but that “the name itself can tell you it’s quite a mystery and every scene has just been so much fun to be in.”
With just a few days into filming and still trying to get comfortable in the new environment, Travis added he’s “just taking it scene by scene and trying to make sure that I remember my lines. I’m very amateur at this.” “I was kinda blown away and kinda, like, shocked that he [Murphy] was willing to give me a role like this, because it is a big role on the show,” the NFL player concluded. “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.”
Travis Kelce is gearing up for his television acting debut. On May 8, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was seen for the first time on set of “Grotesquerie,” the new Ryan Murphy series he’s officially joined as a cast member. Kelce, 34, was dressed in an all-white outfit with a button-down shirt, pants, and white sneakers as he made his way to the set in one photo. In another, he was holding a rolled-up copy of the script in one hand and his phone in the other. His costars Niecy Nash-Betts and Courtney B. Vance were also seen on set, with Vance dressed as a doctor with a lab coat on and a stethoscope around his neck, while Nash-Betts wore a black dress. The FX series, which just started production, is slated to premiere this fall.
PEOPLE confirmed that Kelce would be starring in Murphy’s latest series on May 7. Shortly afterward, Nash-Betts shared a behind-the-scenes video from set as she and the Super Bowl champion delighted fans with the news of their teaming up. “Guys, guess who I am working with on ‘Grotesquerie’?” the 54-year-old actress teased in the selfie-style video, before panning over and revealing Kelce, who said, “Jumping into new territory with Niecy!” “We on site!” Niecy-Betts said. In the post’s caption, she wrote, “This is what happens when WINNERS link up!! @killatrav Welcome to Grostequerie [sic].”
The “Never Have I Ever” actress then teased another look at the series on May 8, as she and Kelce smiled for her camera while seated in a red convertible. In the video, which she posted on her Instagram Stories, she wore a white head scarf and sunglasses and said, “This guy!” before panning over to a laughing Kelce, who held up a peace sign. “Buckle up!” he said, making Nash-Betts laugh, too, as she said, “Oh lord!” “Late night shenanigans,” she wrote over the clip. In a second post to her Instagram Stories, Kelce was seen hugging Murphy, the mind behind the upcoming horror series, while laughing. “How you feel?” Nash-Betts asked him. “I’m just glad I didn’t hurt nobody!” Kelce quipped, hinting at the role he’ll play in the series.
“Grotesquerie” marks Kelce’s latest TV project, which follows his stint as host of “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?,” the Prime Video reboot of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” A source told PEOPLE in March that Kelce was in talks to host the game show, and the reports were confirmed in April in an announcement from Prime Video. In a statement, Kelce said he’s “just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.” “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?’ ” he said. “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.”
From the football field to the silver screen, Travis Kelce’s journey into acting is just beginning. With his role in “Grotesquerie,” he’s stepping into a new world, and fans are eagerly awaiting to see how he fares in this latest venture.
Source: Deadline, PEOPLE, Instagram
