'Happy Gilmore 2' Bear Didn't Know Who Travis Kelce Was While Filming

Taylor Swift finally denied rumors she played the bear who attacked beau Travis Kelce in "Happy Gilmore 2" -- and turns out, the guy actually behind the costume has a surprise as well ... he had no idea he was acting opposite such a big name!

TMZ caught up with Brandon Alan Smith, the actor who hopped into a bear suit and ambushed a shirtless, honey-slathered TK for the recently released 'HG2' ... and he spoke to us about Taylor's recent praise while admitting he had absolutely no clue he was in the presence of an NFL star, let alone THE Taylor Swift's boyfriend.

Just check out our clip -- Brandon is shaking off his "blissful ignorance" regarding the situation ... and hopes Swifties will let him "Out of the Woods" on this one.

He notes he gained some cool points with his daughter after Taylor complimented his acting job as "exquisite" on her "New Heights" podcast appearance on Wednesday. But, he doesn't want to take all the credit -- he says creating the hilarious bear scene was a team effort.

And the compliments keep going around -- You can see in our second clip, Brandon had nothing but praises to sing for the "wonderful" Kansas City Chiefs star ... giving him a glowing review for his enthusiasm and willingness to take direction.

The stunt double even gave us the inside scoop on another take that didn't quite make the film's final cut. As mentioned, the comical scene between Travis and Brandon shows the former getting totally mauled by the honey-hungry bear. And ICYMI, Bad Bunny is the one who covers TK in the sticky, sweet liquid.

But, Brandon says that wasn't the original direction. He recalls they filmed a totally different take that had the bear tenderly licking Travis -- all ... over.

He also laughs about the giant tongue that was originally attached to the bear costume he got to slide all over Travis' bod -- likely to the envy of many fans.

You'll get the full feel of the scene in our clip -- we promise, it's worth the watch.

"Happy Gilmore 2" dropped on Netflix in late July and sees Adam Sandler return as the explosive titual character. Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller also make a return.