For Travis Kelce, working with Adam Sandler on Happy Gilmore 2 was “a dream come true.”
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end praised his time filming scenes with Sandler, 58, for the upcoming comedy sequel, during his appearance on the Monday, Jan. 13 episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show.
“I’ll tell you what, that was a dream come true. I thought SNL was going to be the peak of my acting and showman or entertainment career,” Kelce, 35, said of the experience. “Working with Happy Gilmore himself, the Sandman and Happy Productions, it was off the chain.”
Kelce, who also starred in Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie alongside Niecy Nash, relished his time on the comedy set.
“They’re so professional and yet so fun to work with, I felt like I was working with the Andy Reid of the acting world, man,” he added, referencing Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “[Sandler] is every bit as cool off the screen as he is on the screen and that was a dream come true. That was awesome. I’m in, I believe, a few scenes. I got a pretty hefty load in there.”
Kelce has explored work in acting and entertainment in recent years on top of his successful NFL career; Happy Gilmore 2 will mark his feature film debut. Sandler first revealed that Kelce will appear in the film during an August appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
A teaser Netflix and Sandler released for the long-awaited golf-comedy sequel on Dec. 25 featured Kelce seemingly in character as an employee at a golf club, telling Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, “It’s good to have you back, Mr. Gilmore.”
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When host McAfee and his co-hosts asked Kelce in jest whether he may find himself up for any acting awards for his Happy Gilmore performance, the athlete stayed humble. “I don’t think I’m up to those, that caliber of acting yet. I don’t even know if I’m in that much of Happy Gilmore even to be [nominated] for an award,” he said.
Since he filmed each of his scenes during Kansas City’s bye week from the NFL in October, Kelce also said he “didn’t get too much time to really hang out with Sandler,” whom he said he would like to play pickup basketball with some time in the future.
In addition to Kelce, Happy Gilmore 2 also features Grammy-winning artist Bad Bunny, The Substance star Margaret Qualley, comedian and longtime Sandler collaborator Nick Swardson, Scott Mescudi (better known as rapper Kid Cudi), and Benny Safdie, who co-directed Sandler in Uncut Gems. Christopher McDonald, who played the original movie’s villain Shooter McGavin, will also reprise his role.
Happy Gilmore 2 does not yet have a release date.
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