Kyle Chandler Biography

Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. He has held roles such as Gary Hobson on Early Edition and as Coach Eric Taylor in the drama series Friday Night Lights, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2011. He has starred in the films King Kong (2005), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Super 8 (2011), Argo (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Carol (2015), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). In 2015, he began starring on Netflix's drama series Bloodline, for which he received his fourth and fifth Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Early life

Chandler was born in Buffalo, New York, the fourth child of Edward Chandler, a pharmaceutical sales representative, and his wife, Sally Jeanette (ne Meyer), a dog breeder. Chandler has three siblings. His ancestry includes German, English, and Irish.

Chandler was raised Roman Catholic (although he stopped attending church after his father's death). 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.

Chandler graduated from George Walton Academy in nearby Monroe in 1983. 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. He participated in the theatre program at Walton after quitting football.

Chandler's widowed mother ran the business, Sheenwater Kennels, to support Chandler and his siblings. She "was highly active with the Great Dane Club of America (GDCA) as a breeder, judge and championship prize winner."

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. In 1988, seven credits short of a bachelor's degree in drama, Chandler dropped out of college to pursue a television deal.

Career

1988-2006: Early career

In 1988, Chandler was signed by the American Broadcasting Company and brought to Hollywood as part of ABC's new talent program. He made his television film debut that same year as a supporting hero actor in Quiet Victory. Also in 1988, Chandler studied with acting teacher, Milton Katselas. 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.

Chandler made his film debut in one of the key roles in the 1992 George Strait film, Pure Country. From 1991 to 1993, he had a series regular role as Cleveland Indians right fielder Jeff Metcalf in the ABC series Homefront, a drama set in the post-World War II era in the fictional town of River Run, Ohio. Homefront ran for two seasons, with Chandler appearing in all 42 episodes.

In 1994, he made his Broadway debut, co-starring with Ashley Judd, in a revival of William Inge's Picnic at the Roundabout Theatre Company. From 1996 to 2000, Chandler starred as the lead character in the CBS series Early Edition, starring as a man who had the ability to change future disasters. He portrayed bar owner Gary Hobson, a stockbroker turned hero who received "tomorrow's newspaper today", delivered to his door by a mysterious cat. In 1996, he received the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television for his portrayal of Hobson. Chandler was featured in all 90 episodes of the series, which ran for four seasons. In 2001, he appeared opposite Joan Cusack as investment banker Jake Evans in one season of the ABC comedy series What About Joan.

In 2003, Chandler played scheming lawyer Grant Rashton in six episodes of the short-lived NBC series The Lyon's Den, opposite Rob Lowe. Working again in film, Chandler played the 1930s film star Bruce Baxter in the 2005 film King Kong (the character was based on romantic film star Bruce Cabot, who played Jack Driscoll in the original King Kong). Coincidentally, Chandler later played John Driscoll in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

In February 2006, Chandler returned to television to guest star as the ill-fated bomb squad leader Dylan Young in two episodes of the ABC series Grey's Anatomy. The episodes, titled "It's The End of The World" and "As We Know It", followed the Super Bowl XL. He received substantial praise for his performance and was nominated for the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards. He appeared again on Grey's Anatomy, in the February 15, 2007 episode "Drowning On Dry Land", and the February 22, 2007 episode "Some Kind of Miracle".

2006-2011: Friday Night Lights

While working on his Primetime Emmy Award-nominated guest role in Grey's Anatomy, Chandler met Peter Berg, who was developing a drama series Friday Night Lights, which followed the lives of a high school football coach, his family, and the players in a small Texas town. The series was inspired by Buzz Bissinger's book and the film of the same name. Chandler learned that he had been cast as high school football coach Eric Taylor when he was on Christmas vacation in 2005 with his family.

The show's pilot aired on NBC in 2006. While critically acclaimed, the series was at risk of cancellation each year. Starting with the third season in 2008, first-run episodes of the show were broadcast on DirecTV satellite channel The 101 Network before being repeated on NBC. The final season ended in 2011.

Chandler said that neither he nor Berg wanted him to play the role of Coach Taylor. And "while Chandler later changed his mind and decided he would be perfect for the role, Berg didn't see things his way: 'To this day he still says, I still didn't want you.'" Chandler won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the final season of Friday Night Lights.

While shooting the series, Chandler also acted in some films. In 2007, he appeared in The Kingdom, which was directed by Friday Night Lights creator Berg, and in 2008, he appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still as John Driscoll.

2011-present: Film career and Bloodline

After Friday Night Lights ended, Chandler focused on film work. In 2011, he had a lead role in J.J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8. The following year, he appeared in Argo. Chandler also co-starred in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty in 2012, playing the role of Joseph Bradley, an Islamabad C.I.A. Station Chief. He co-starred alongside Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke.

In 2013, he had a supporting role in Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Chandler appeared in The Wolf of Wall Street, also released in 2013, based on the memoir of Wall Street tycoon Jordan Belfort. It was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, with Martin Scorsese directing. Chandler played FBI agent Patrick Denham. That same year, he played a deadbeat alcoholic father in The Spectacular Now.

In 2015, Chandler co-starred in Todd Haynes' drama film Carol, portraying "a jealous husband" to his wife played by Cate Blanchett, who is revealed to be lesbian. Also in 2015, Chandler returned to television with the Netflix drama series Bloodline. The show premiered to positive reviews from critics, and ended after airing its third season. In the 2016 drama Manchester by the Sea, he played the main character's older brother.

Chandler played an investigator in Shawn Christensen's film The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017), and starred with Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman in the comedy film Game Night (2018). In February 2017, he was cast in Godzilla: King of the Monsters alongside Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown.

Personal life

For nearly 20 years after beginning his acting career in the late 1980s, Chandler lived in Los Angeles. Since 2007, Chandler and his family have lived on a 33-acre spread in Dripping Springs, Texas, southwest of Austin, where they own several dogs and donkeys. Chandler's mother came to live with the family toward the end of her life, when she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She died in 2014.

Chandler serves as a volunteer firefighter. He also participates in an annual charity golf tournament at Wolfdancer to raise funds for football players who have spinal injuries.

Chandler has been married to Kathryn Macquarrie since 1995. Chandler met his wife at a dog park in the mid-1990s. They have two daughters, Sydney and Sawyer. Chandler and his daughter Sawyer have been active in trying to end the practice of shark finning.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Color of Evening	John
1992	Pure Country	Buddy Jackson
1996	Mulholland Falls	Captain
1999	Angel's Dance	Tony Greco
2005	King Kong	Bruce Baxter
2007	The Kingdom	Francis Manner
2008	The Day the Earth Stood Still	John Driscoll
2010	Morning	Businessman
2011	Super 8	Jackson Lamb
2012	Argo	Hamilton Jordan
	Zero Dark Thirty	Joseph Bradley
2013	Broken City	Paul Andrews
	The Naughty List	Santa Claus (voice)	Direct-to-DVD
	The Spectacular Now	Tommy Keely
	The Wolf of Wall Street	Patrick Denham
2015	Carol	Harge Aird
2016	Manchester by the Sea	Joe Chandler
2017	The Vanishing of Sidney Hall	The Searcher
2018	Game Night	Brooks
	First Man	Deke Slayton	Post-production
2019	Godzilla: King of the Monsters	Mark Russell	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story	Skinner	Television film
1989	Unconquered	1st Boy	Television film
1989	Home Fires Burning	Billy Benefield	Television film
1989	China Beach	Grunt	Episode: "Independence Day"
1989	Freddy's Nightmares	Chuck	Episode: "Memory Overload"
1990	Tour of Duty	William Griner	8 episodes
1990, 2002	One Life to Live	Joey	2 episodes
1991-1993	Homefront	Jeff Metcalf	42 episodes
1994	North and South Book III: Heaven and Hell	Charles Main	1 episode
1995	Sleep, Baby, Sleep	Peter Walker	Television film
1995	Convict Cowboy	Clay Treyton	Television film
1996-2000	Early Edition	Gary Hobson	90 episodes
2000-2001	What About Joan?	Jake Evans	21 episodes
2003	The Lyon's Den	Grant Rashton	7 episodes
2003	And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself	Raoul Walsh	Television film
2004	Capital City	Mac McGinty	Pilot
2005	Lies and the Wives We Tell Them To	Cooper	Pilot
2006-2007	Grey's Anatomy	Dylan Young	4 episodes
2006-2011	Friday Night Lights	Eric Taylor	76 episodes
2008	King of the Hill	Tucker Mardell (voice)	Episode: "The Courtship of Joseph's Father"
2011	Robot Chicken	Various voices	Episode: "No Country for Old Dogs"
2013	The Vatican	Cardinal Thomas Duffy	Pilot
2013	Monstrous Holiday	Coach (voice)	Television film
2014	American Dad!	Coach Keegan (voice)	Episode: "Introducing The Naughty Stewardesses"
2015-2017	Bloodline	John Rayburn	33 episodes
2016	Family Guy	Coach Doyle (voice)	Episode: "Bookie of the Year"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role
1994	Picnic	Hal Carter

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1997	Saturn Awards	Best Actor on Television	Early Edition
2006	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Grey's Anatomy
2007	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	Friday Night Lights
2010	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
2011	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Drama Series
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
2012	Hollywood Film Awards	Best Cast	Argo
	San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	Friday Night Lights
2013	Palm Springs International Film Festival	Best Cast	Argo
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2015	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Bloodline
2016	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series