Is Travis Kelce a good actor? We investigate!

Travis Kelce is running into Hollywood as fast as his cleats can carry him.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, boyfriend of Taylor Swift and star of every other commercial on TV is making big moves off the gridiron this fall, with a high-profile acting role on a buzzy new series and a hosting gig on Amazon Prime Video.

You can see Kelce in Ryan Murphy's new horror drama "Grotesquerie" on FX (Wednesdays, 10 EDT/PDT; streaming Thursdays on Hulu) as ethereal orderly Eddie Lachlan, and hosting Amazon's new game show "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" These forays follow his highly acclaimed 2023 "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig and a brief appearance in 2020 Showtime comedy "Moonbase 8" alongside Fred Armisen and John C. Reilly. He has several more projects in the works, too, including a role in Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore 2."

It's clear some people in Hollywood think that Kelce is good at this whole acting thing, but is he really? Or should we hope he sticks to entertaining on the football field?

Maybe all those commercials with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason, have paid off, because Travis doesn't embarrass himself in the dark and disturbing "Grotesquerie." Instead, he pulls off his scenes opposite Emmy-winner Niecy Nash-Betts rather nicely, even if his delivery is sometimes a little stilted.

That could be because he's still pretty new as a thespian, or because his character may be some kind of ghost or hallucination. In the series' third episode, he shows up as an orderly who enters Detective Lois Tryon's (Nash-Betts) life while she's investigating a particularly grisly and Biblically obsessed serial killer. Eddie appears dressed all in white in a picturesque and bright hallway filled with red and pink roses. He offers flirtation and philosophical truths to Lois while she drinks and smokes. After she drunkenly gets into a car accident, he shows up again, seemingly unseen by the other characters. His other brief appearances include meeting Lois' daughter and appearing as her life flashes before her eyes, but don't answer questions about his origins. Four episodes remain to explain who (or what) he really is.

Kelce's status as a nonactor and famous boyfriend adds to the unreality of the moment, with fans speculating that Eddie is some kind of angel, especially given the series' religious themes. Whatever he ends up being, his appearance is a rare bit of stunt casting I can get behind.

More: Travis Kelce makes 'Grotesquerie' debut as sexy orderly, former stripper, Ed Laclan

But will he always be a stunt? On "SNL" he mostly played off his famous persona, including as the hot-wing-obsessed "Straight Male Friend" in a sketch opposite Bowen Yang. In the premiere of "Moonbase 8," he portrayed a heightened version of himself as an astronaut in training who was quickly (and comedically) killed off.

If Kelce is serious about acting, at some point he'll have to stop playing good old boys with a lilt in their voice and seek out some range. Or maybe not! Sports stars have accomplished more in Hollywood with less acting talent. Considering we haven't reached peak-Kelce yet, it's possible there's an appetite for him playing five or 10 or 20 different versions of himself in series and movies to come.

Plus there's always hosting. On "Smarter," Kelce goofs off, jumps around and gives bear hugs to fans and B-list celebrities as contestants compete to win cash prizes by answering grade-school-level questions. The show is nearly unwatchable, but Kelce is part of what makes it only "nearly." After all, he is deliciously charming.

To be a leading man in Hollywood, you don't always have to be more than that.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travis Kelce's show 'Grotesquerie' has us asking: is he a good actor?