Actor/Ravens fan admits Travis Kelce & Chiefs bullied Baltimore in AFC title game
Actor Ethan Hawke recently recounted his enjoyable meeting with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on the set of a Taylor Swift video.
Hawke appeared in the “Fortnight” video with his friend and “Dead Poets Society” co-star Josh Charles, who didn’t have such a good time seeing Kelce.
Charles is a rabid Baltimore sports fan who was still licking his wounds from the Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 28, 2024.
Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes set the tone before kickoff by ejecting Ravens kicker Justin Tucker and his equipment from the area where the Chiefs were warming up.
During the game, Kelce caught a touchdown pass and made an athletic grab that kept a drive alive.
While on “The Tonight Show,” Charles on Monday recounted meeting Kelce on the set of Swift’s video.
“I’ve always liked Travis Kelce,” said Charles, who stars in the new CBS show, “Best Medicine,” the U.S. version of “Doc Martin.” “I just always thought he was so cool. But that year that they beat us in the AFC Championship Game, they beat the Ravens. He was a real jerk that year. And so I kind of fell off of him.
“So when I met him, I said, ‘You know, I always liked you, and this year you were kind of a (jerk).’ Can I say that?”
Charles didn’t say jerk, he spelled out a curse word.
Jimmy Fallon was amazed that Charles said that to Kelce, and not just because the 6-foot-5 Kelce could have pounded the actor into a pulp.
“He laughed,” Charles recalled. “He was like, ‘You know what, you’re right.’ He goes, ‘I’m gonna tell you why. Because we marked down that game against your team, if we could win that game, we were most worried about that game.’ ... So he’s like, ‘I had to come in with some swagger.’
“And he did. He got one of our veterans to commit a personal foul. You know, he got in our heads, and it worked for them, and they won the game. But he was actually great. We talked all kinds of different football.”
Fallon said: “He’s the most fun human. I can’t really like to watch him play anything, because I can’t root against Travis, yeah, I can root against him, but I like him.
Charles, ever the Ravens fan, responded dryly: “Yeah, I like him a lot, but I’ll root against him.”
Video of that interview was shared on X/Twitter.
This story was originally published January 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Actor/Ravens fan admits Travis Kelce & Chiefs bullied Baltimore in AFC title game."
