Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has had a wish come true thanks to Adam Sandler.
The actor and comedian announced on Tuesday that Kelce has a role in the upcoming film Happy Gilmore 2, the sequel to Sandler’s 1996 hit. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Sandler spilled details about the football star’s new career move.
“You know Travis Kelce really wants to be a part of this,” host Jimmy Fallon said. “He’s talked about it on a podcast.”
“Yes, yes. Travis has been—he mentioned it, and so we have a nice something for Travis,” the 50 First Dates actor said. “He’s a very nice guy. You guys would love him in real life. What a big, handsome guy and, well, funny and cool as hell.”
“He’s a stud,” Fallon added, to which Sandler replied, “He’s a stud, and he’s so funny.”
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On the May 29 episode of Kelce’s New Heights podcast—which he co-hosts with brother, Jason Kelce—the NFL player appeared to manifest the idea when he said he’d “do anything” in the movie, adding, “I’ll be a part of it any way I possibly can.”
“I’ll be a f****** extra. Anything to get around Happy Gilmore, an Adam Sandler film or set, count me in,” he said at the time.
When his brother said there was “no evidence to support” the online theory that Kelce would be in the movie, the Chiefs player said, “[No evidence] other than the movie’s getting made and I’m looking for movie deals.”
“Who knows? Theories can come true,” Kelce said elsewhere in the podcast. “Theories can be true and people just don’t know about it. I might even be in the talking and nobody knows about it, but I could also not be in the talking.”
Happy Gilmore follows a hockey player turned golfer, played by Sandler, who changes careers in the hopes of winning money to save his grandmother’s house from being repossessed by the IRS.
Sandler told Fallon about the upcoming film: “This is happening. We’re getting ready to shoot it in New Jersey … We start in a couple weeks.”
The actor added that he worked with his “buddy,” writer and producer Tim Herlihy, to come up with the sequel. “We worked hard on the script,” Sandler said. “We didn’t want to let anybody down.”
“We’re really excited about it. We wrote our a**** off,” the actor added. “We’re continuing to try to make it a movie that you guys will like.”
Later this year, Kelce is set to host Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spinoff of the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? game show. Earlier this month, he announced the premiere date on Instagram.
“Sharpen your pencils. Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?, hosted by Travis Kelce, arrives October 16,” the announcement said.
In April, Kelce said in a news release about the Amazon Prime Video series, “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.”
Kelce put his acting skills to the test in June while appearing onstage with his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, at her Eras Tour show in London. The Chiefs star was tasked with carrying the “Cruel Summer” singer to a red couch on the other side of the stage.
On the July 3 episode of New Heights, Kelce discussed the thoughts running through his mind in that moment.
“Listen, the one thing I told myself is: ‘Do not drop the baby. Do not drop this—do not drop Taylor on your way over to this d*** couch,'” he said. “The golden rule was: ‘Do not drop Taylor getting her over to the couch.'”
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter said Kelce was also in talks to appear in the upcoming action comedy Loose Cannons.
