One of the biggest draws of Saturday Night Live has always been the show’s ability to draw in some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment. Fans love seeing their favorite stars take to the stage to host NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series, especially stars such as Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
SNL allows fans the opportunity to see the stars they love step outside of their comfort zones and push themselves in new ways by showing off their comedic chops alongside the show’s talented ensemble. Hosting SNL is no easy task, though. Hosts have just a few short days to prepare for the live shows, and things move incredibly fast, which is something that challenges hosts in ways they’re not typically challenged. In fact, the fast pace of the read-throughs was something that Kelce has admitted was the hardest part of hosting the show in March 2023.
Reflecting on his season 48 hosting stint in the July 1 episode of Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, Kelce confessed that reading through the sketches in preparation for the live show was the hardest part of the hosting gig.
“The writers’ rooms were fun because you’re just getting pitched ideas. The table reading, for a guy that can’t really read that well, it was kind of a f--ked situation. I felt like I was just trying to get through the reading instead of actually acting it out and giving it a voice and giving it a character and things like that. I was just focused on, ‘Don’t f–king skip this line.’ The table read was the hardest f--king part.”
After making it through the show’s table read, the hardest part was over; however, Kelce admits that the pressure to deliver continued to weigh on him. While he felt more comfortable doing the comedic show versus taking on dramatic acting, he felt an immense amount of pressure to not “look like a loser” and earn the respect of the SNL cast and writers.
“There was still a sense of like, ‘I need to be a professional here.’ “I want to take advantage of this, but I want to have fun doing it, but I don’t want to look like a loser doing this. I want to make them respect my approach and how I’m like taking it serious. But it was just a fun roller coaster, man.”
The hard work Kelce put in more than paid off. Fans and critics alike praised the star tight end for his performance on the show and the fun he had at his own expense. The episode was a strong performer for NBC and delivered several standout sketches, proving that with hard work and perseverance, you can always find a way to overcome the challenges life throws your way.
It seems his SNL hosting stint also inspired Kelce to continue to pursue comedy as he’s set to show off his comedic chops again in this July’s Happy Gilmore 2. Kelce is slated to play a hotel worker in the film, and while his role is expected to be minor, fans are eager to see Kelce show off his comedic abilities in the film when it drops on Netflix on July 25.
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