Early life

Chandler was born in Buffalo, New York, the fourth child of Edward Chandler, a pharmaceutical sales representative, and his wife, Sally Jeanette Chandler (née Meyer), a dog breeder. Chandler has three siblings, one of whom helped him with his southern accents for Friday Night Lights and Bloodline. His ancestry includes German, English, and Irish.

Chandler was raised near Chicago, Illinois. When he was 11, his family moved from Lake Forest, Illinois to a small farm in Loganville, Georgia. Chandler's parents raised Great Dane show dogs, and he travelled with them to dog shows as a child. He also helped out at their dog boarding kennel.

Chandler graduated from George Walton Academy in nearby Monroe, in 1983. As a freshman at George Walton, Chandler was a member of the 1979 state championship football team. He left the team the following year, after his father died of a heart attack when Chandler was 14 years old. Chandler participated in the theatre program at Walton after quitting football. Chandler's widowed mother ran the business, Sheenwater Kennels, to support Kyle 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 Georgia to pursue a television deal.

Career

1988-2006: Early career

In 1988 Chandler was signed by ABC and brought to Hollywood as part of ABC's new talent program. 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 movie, Pure Country. From 1991 to 1993 he landed his first role as a series regular as Cleveland Indians right fielder Jeff Metcalf in the ABC show 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 Chandler 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 was cast as the lead in the CBS television 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 in all 90 episodes of the show, which ran for four seasons.

In 2001, Chandler appeared opposite Joan Cusack as investment banker Jake Evans in one season of the ABC comedy series What About Joan, a show shot in Chicago that was produced by veteran producer James L. Brooks.

In 2003 Chandler also 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 episode television in a guest star role as the ill-fated bomb squad leader Dylan Young in "It's The End of The World" and "As We Know It", a two-part episode of the ABC series Grey's Anatomy that followed Super Bowl XL. He received substantial notice and press for his performance and subsequently was nominated for the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006. 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 Emmy-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 players in a small Texas town. The series was inspired by Buzz Bissinger's book and the movie of the same name. Chandler learned that he would be 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 Berg nor he 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 as Coach Taylor in the final season of Friday Night Lights. Chandler thought the series "ended perfectly".

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 Peter Berg, and in December 2008, he appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

2011-present: Film career and Bloodline

After Friday Night Lights, Chandler focused on film work. In 2011, he appeared in a lead role in the science fiction movie Super 8. In 2012, he appeared in Ben Affleck's drama, Argo, set in Iran.

Chandler also co-starred in Zero Dark Thirty (2012), playing the role of Joseph Bradley, Islamabad C.I.A. Station Chief; co-stars were 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 also nominated for an Academy Award. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, with Martin Scorsese directing. Chandler played FBI agent Patrick Denham.

In 2013 Chandler starred in the Showtime Networks pilot directed by Ridley Scott called The Vatican. The pilot was not picked up to series. The Vatican was a project created by Friday Night Lights producer David Nevins and supported by Amy Pascal.

In the indie film, The Spectacular Now (2013), Chandler played a deadbeat alcoholic dad. Chandler co-starred in a Todd Haynes film, Carol (2015), where he played "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 original series, Bloodline. Also starring in the show are Sam Shepard, Sissy Spacek, Linda Cardellini, Ben Mendelsohn, Norbert Leo Butz and Jamie McShane. Receiving strong reviews, the series was renewed for a second season, to air in 2016.

In April 2016, Chandler was reported to have joined the principal cast of Shawn Christensen's independent feature film Sidney Hall, which began filming later that month.

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 has referred to her disease in interviews.

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 Chandler (née 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
1992	Pure Country	Buddy Jackson
1994	Color of Evening, TheThe Color of Evening	John
1996	Mulholland Falls	Captain
1999	Angel's Dance	Tony Greco
2005	King Kong	Bruce Baxter
2007	Kingdom, TheThe Kingdom	Francis Manner
2008	Day the Earth Stood Still, TheThe Day the Earth Stood Still	John Driscol
2011	Super 8	Jackson Lamb
2012	Argo	Hamilton Jordan
2012	Zero Dark Thirty	Joseph Bradley
2013	Broken City	Paul Andrews
2013	The Naughty List	Santa (voice)	Direct-to-DVD
2013	The Spectacular Now	Mr. Keely
2013	Wolf of Wall Street, TheThe Wolf of Wall Street	Patrick Denham
2015	Carol	Harge Aird
2016	Manchester by the Sea	Joe Chandler
2017	Sidney Hall

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story	Skinner	Television film
1989	Unconquered	1st Boy	Television film
1989	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Billy Benefield	Episode: "Home Fires Burning"
1989	China Beach	Grunt	Episode: "Independence Day"
1989	Freddy's Nightmares	Chuck	Episode: "Memory Overload"
1990	Tour of Duty	William Griner	8 episodes
1990, 2003	One Life to Live	Joey	2 episodes
1991-1993	Homefront	Jeff Metcalf	41 episodes
1994	North and South Book III: Heaven and Hell	Charles Main	3 episodes
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	Lyon's Den, TheThe Lyon's Den	Grant Rashton	6 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	Mongo / Man (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-present	Bloodline	John Rayburn	23 episodes

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

Charities

Kyle Chandler supports the following charitable cause: Alzheimer's.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]