Travis Kelce Adam Rose/Prime Video
Travis Kelce was the host with the most on the Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? set — at least according to two of the game show’s guest stars, Natasha Leggero and Ron Funches.
“He brings his traditional golden retriever energy of a man who’s super attractive yet down to earth,” Funches, 41, said exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly of Kelce, 34, before the Prime Video show’s premiere. “He is a pretty amazing gentlemen.”
Leggero, 50, was quick to cosign her fellow comedian’s take on Kelce. “He really blew us away,” she said of the Kansas City Chiefs player’s hosting prowess.
The Are You Smarter Than game show series became popular with the 2007 premiere of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Now, celebrities are getting involved as contestants will compete against a panel of stars to see who has the most knowledge.
Both Funches and Leggero did admit to Us that they were skeptical at first about what Kelce would bring to the table.
“You meet some athletes who their whole focus has been athletics and not reading and not doing anything else,” Funches said, noting that Kelce was “a champion” when it came to the show.
“In all regards, he puts in the work ethic, he puts in everything he needs to do to be good,” Funches explained. “I don’t think he’d have a problem saying this, in the beginning — just like anyone trying something new — he wasn’t as confident in himself about it.”
However, when he came back the next day it was as if Kelce had “been hosting for years.” Funches added: “It was very impressive.”
Leggero went on to say that she was “pretty impressed with how well he was doing.” During breaks in filming, everyone praised Kelce for “how funny” the show was becoming. “You could see he was starting to really feel himself,” she added.
Leggero also joked to Us that she felt like football players were her “natural enemies” before Kelce because of experiences back in high school. “I really am not a football person,” she said, noting that working alongside the athlete definitely changed her tune.
“He was just so good natured, and you could tell he loved comedy,” she gushed. “He didn’t think he was better than any of us. I just feel like he really wanted to fit in, and really did fit in. It was cool, and it’s cool for him … you can’t be a football player forever, right? I think people are gonna love him.”
Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? premieres via Prime Video on Wednesday, October 16.
Reporting by Amanda Williams
