Kyle Chandler
Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965)[1] is an American actor. Chandler received widespread critical acclaim for his performance as Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights (2006–2011); he received numerous award nominations for his portrayal of the character and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2011 for his performance in the show's final season.
Kyle Chandler
Making his screen acting debut in a 1988 television film, Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story, Chandler's first regular television role was in the ABC drama Homefront (1991–1993). This was followed by the lead role of Gary Hobson in the CBS series Early Edition (1996–2000), for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television. His other television roles include the sitcom What About Joan? (2001) and the legal drama The Lyon's Den (2003), both short-lived, and a well-received guest appearance on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, for which Chandler received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Chandler's film work[2] has included notable supporting roles in King Kong (2005), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Super 8 (2011), Argo, Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Carol (2015), Manchester by the Sea (2016), Game Night and First Man (2018). He starred as Dr. Mark Russell in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). Chandler's first starring role on television since the conclusion of Friday Night Lights was as Det. John Rayburn in the Netflix thriller Bloodline (2015–2017), for which he received his fourth and fifth Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In November 2022, he appeared as the character Peter in the Netflix film Slumberland.
Early life[edit]
Chandler was born in Buffalo, New York, the fourth child of Edward Chandler, a pharmaceutical sales representative, and his wife, Sally Jeanette (née Meyer), a dog breeder.[3][4][5] Chandler has three siblings.[3][6]
Chandler was raised Roman Catholic, although he stopped attending church after his father's death in 1980.[7] He grew up in suburban Lake Forest, Illinois, until he was 11 years old, when his family moved to a small farm in Loganville, Georgia. Chandler's mother raised Great Danes for show dogs; he travelled with his parents to dog shows as a child and helped out at their dog boarding kennel.[8][9]
Chandler graduated from George Walton Academy in nearby Monroe, Georgia, in 1983.[10] As a freshman at Walton, he was a member of the 1979 state championship football team. He left the team the following year, aged 14, after his father died of a heart attack.[9] He participated in the theatre program at Walton after quitting football.[10][11]
Chandler's widowed mother ran the business, Sheenwater Kennels, to support Chandler and his siblings.[11] She "was highly active with the Great Dane Club of America (GDCA) as a breeder, judge and championship prize winner."[12][13][14]
After graduating from high school, Chandler attended the University of Georgia, where he was a drama major and member of the class of 1984 Sigma Nu fraternity.[15] In 1988, seven credits short of a bachelor's degree in drama, Chandler dropped out of college to pursue a television deal.[11]
Career[edit]
1988–2006: Early career[edit]
In 1988, Chandler was signed by the American Broadcasting Company and brought to Hollywood as part of ABC's new talent program.[16] He made his television film debut that same year as a supporting hero actor in Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story. Also in 1988, Chandler studied with acting teacher, Milton Katselas.[17] His first major acting experience was a supporting role on television as Army Private William Griner in Tour of Duty. In eight episodes of the last season of the series, he played a member of a special operations squad fighting in Vietnam.
Personal life[edit]
For nearly 20 years after beginning his acting career in the late 1980s, Chandler lived in Los Angeles.[42][43] Since 2007, Chandler and his family have lived on a 33-acre spread in Dripping Springs, Texas,[2] southwest of Austin, where they own several dogs and donkeys.[30][44] Chandler's mother came to live with the family toward the end of her life, when she was living with Alzheimer's disease. She died in 2014.[3]
Chandler serves as a volunteer firefighter. He also participates in an annual charity golf tournament at Wolfdancer Golf Club (in Lost Pines, TX) to raise funds for football players who have spinal cord injuries.[43]
Chandler has been married to Kathryn Macquarrie since 1995. Chandler met his wife at a dog park in the mid-1990s.[45] They have two daughters, Sydney, who is an actress, and Sawyer.[45] Chandler and his daughter Sawyer have been active in trying to end the practice of shark finning.[46]