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Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce has landed his first major acting role in writer and director Ryan Murphy's upcoming FX series Grotesquerie.
Kelce's participation in the show was revealed by co-star Niecy Nash-Betts in a video shared on her social media accounts following an exclusive report by Deadline.com.
"This is what happens when WINNERS link up‼️ @killatrav Welcome to Grostequerie!" Nash wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
News of Kelce's role on Grotesquerie came weeks after he was officially announced as the host of the upcoming Prime Video gameshow, 'Are You Smarter than a Celebrity?,' the streaming service announced on April 16.
"The man with the answers. Travis Kelce will host ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A CELEBRITY? Coming soon to Prime Video," Prime Video wrote on its X account, along with a photo of Kelce.
The confirmation came nearly a full month after reports that Kelce was in talks to host a "celebrity-focused" reboot of the game show for the streaming platform, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed to Variety.com on March 19.
Kelce, 34, a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the NFL's all-time greatest tight ends, has emerged as arguably the biggest star in the league over the past year, having hosted Saturday Night Live last March and been featured in numerous commercials throughout the football season prior to his heavily publicized relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift. Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? ran on FOX with host Jeff Foxworthy for three consecutive seasons beginning in 2007 and later returned for a fourth season in 2015, while a newer version for Nickelodeon was hosted by wrestling legend turned actor John Cena in 2019.
Several other NFL stars have hosted game show reboots including Pro Football Hall of Famers Michael Strahan on the modern version of '$100,000 Pyramid' for ABC and Peyton Manning on 'College Bowl' for NBC and Peacock.
Kelce and the Chiefs reached a deal on a extension last month that will pay him an average annual salary of $17.125 million during the next two seasons, which will make him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.