Travis Kelce Is ‘Awesome’ in Grotesquerie, Says Costar Nicholas Chavez: (Exclusive)

Travis Kelce is impressing with his acting skills!

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Monday, Sept. 16, Nicholas Chavez says that Kelce’s turn in another of Ryan Murphy’s creations – the upcoming horror series, Grotesquerie — is a triumph.

“He has such an exciting character in this show, and I think that people should be looking forward to seeing Travis shine because guy’s a star,” continues Chavez, 25, who adds that he “really enjoyed getting to know” the 34-year-old on the set.

As for what Kelce’s acting chops are like, Chavez teases that “He handled the material like a pro. He’s awesome.”

While the details of Kelce’s character remain unknown, Chavez stars as Father Charlie Mayhew in the FX series, which is led by Niecy Nash-Betts as Detective Lois Tryon, who finds her small town unsettled by a “series of heinous crimes” that she feels are “eerily personal,” per the official description.

Earlier this month, an exclusive source told PEOPLE that Kelce quickly earned Nash-Betts’ seal of approval while they were filiming the show.

“They had the best time filming. She just adores him,” the insider said of Nash-Betts, 54. “[Travis] was super happy on set and he and Niecy vibed really well, nothing felt forced.”

The source added that the actress is “the type to make her mind up about people pretty quickly,” and Kelce “got an automatic green light from her.”

Back in May, Kelce admitted that he was “shocked” to have landed the role during an episode of his New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast.

“It’s been so much fun,” he said of filming, which he was in the middle of while recording the episode. “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.”

The NFL star went on to share that his lack of acting experience made him feel a “jabroni” on set.

“I feel like an amateur,” he continued. “And, uh, I haven’t gotten fired yet so we’re doing good. They haven’t told me to f—ing kick rocks after the first week, so it’s been awesome.”
“I was kinda blown away and kinda, like, shocked that he was willing to give me a role like this, because it is a big role on the show,” he added of Murphy. “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.”

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