The nepo baby star of FX’s big budget Alien: Earth series has ruffled some serious feathers during the show’s press tour after getting into a clash with Variety.
Sydney Chandler, who is the daughter of Emmy-winning Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler, is the lead actress in the blockbuster sci-fi series, which is based on the iconic Alien franchise.
During a scheduled interview with industry bible Variety, the 29-year-old reportedly pulled out of an agreed cover shoot after refusing to participate in a filmed Q&A ‘game’ alongside her co-star Timothy Olyphant and the show’s creator Noah Hawley.
In a damning article, Variety claims that Chandler had her reps reach out the day before the scheduled shoot to relay that she ‘wasn’t willing to participate’ in the video interview, which was billed as a ‘How Well Do They Know Each Other?’ game.
Through her reps, Chandler expressed that she didn’t want to play the game with ‘two older men’ – referring to Olyphant, 57, and Hawley, 58.
To ease her concerns, Variety sent over a list of sample questions ahead of time, only for Chandler to send back a list of questions of her own.
She then pulled out of the video altogether, but agreed to continue with the cover shoot and phone interview.
Kyle Chandler’s nepo baby daughter Sydney was pulled from a Variety magazine cover shoot after refusing to participate in a filmed ‘game’ for the publication
Sydney, 29, is the lead actress in the blockbuster sci-fi series Alien: Earth, which is based on the iconic Alien franchise
According to Variety, on the morning of the shoot, Chandler changed her mind again and decided not to show up, leaving Olyphant and showrunner Hawley to do the shoot alone without their leading lady.
Hawley, who won multiple awards for his work on the Fargo series, including an Emmy in 2014, later told Variety that he was ‘disappointed’ in Chandler’s behavior.
‘The show is built around Sydney’s character, and the work she did as a professional was tremendous,’ he said.
‘I’m disappointed that my female-centric show, based on a female-facing franchise, does not have my lead actress on the cover. It felt awkward to be there with Tim [Olyphant] without her.’
Explaining her side of the situation in a subsequent phone interview with Variety, Chandler said, ‘I’m just a private person.’
She continued, ‘I’m new to press — it’s a bit out of my comfort zone. I was more than happy to talk about anything and everything about the show; that’s what I’m here to promote.’
In emails and text messages exchanged between FX, Chandler’s publicists, and Variety obtained by DailyMail.com, it is confirmed that Chandler did refuse to participate in the ‘How Well Do They Know Each Other?’ game with Olyphant and Hawley because she didn’t ‘feel comfortable’ with it.
Chandler’s co-star Timothy Olyphant and the show’s creator Noah Hawley were left to do the cover without her after she pulled out of the shoot
However, her team did offer up alternative video content, such a breakdown of the Alien: Earth trailer by Chandler.
The alternative options that Chandler’s team offered were not accepted by Variety, who insisted that she play the ‘How Well Do They Know Each Other?’ game, and Variety’s Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh then removed her from the cover shoot.
Despite being pulled, Variety and Chandler’s team continued trying to negotiate a way to do the cover the following day, only for Chandler herself to pull out this time, with her publicist claiming that she was ‘very sick.’
Chandler’s team were also unable to get her glam team and stylist back on board at such short notice, as they had canceled their services the day before when Variety first pulled Chandler from the shoot.
DailyMail.com has contacted FX and Chandler for comment.
While Chandler refused to play the game that Variety wanted, her team offered alternatives that she felt more comfortable with – only for the publication to refuse her options
Chandler made her acting debut with a supporting role in Olivia Wilde’s controversial psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling back in 2022.
That same year, she landed a coveted role playing rock legend Chrissie Hyde in FX’s musical miniseries Pistol, which was based on the career of the Sex Pistols.
Her famous father Kyle has been a Hollywood staple for years thanks to memorable roles in Argo, The Wolf of Wall Street, Netflix’s Bloodline, the Godzilla franchise, and of course, Friday Night Lights.
His daughter’s antics will most likely leave FX unimpressed given how much the network has put into Alien: Earth.
While FX has declined to reveal the exact budget of the series, FX Entertainment president Gina Balian told Variety that it was ‘bigger’ than Shōgun, which cost $250 million.
Considering that the Alien franchise, which started with Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, is one of the most recognizable horror IPs in the world, it’s no surprise that Alien: Earth is expected to follow in the success of hit shows like The Last of Us.
Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on FX and streams on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+
Alien: Earth is a prequel to the original 1979 film, which famously starred Sigourney Weaver as the iconic character Ripley.
Chandler leads the series as Wendy, an android who has the body of a robot but the consciousness of a human.
Her deep space research vessel crash lands on earth in the year 2120, where Wendy and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers must face ‘mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.’
According to the show’s director Dana Gonzales, Alien: Earth will feature all the creatures that fans love from the films, like Facehuggers and Xenomorphs.
‘We have huge sequences where all you’re seeing is the Xenomorph. It’s driving a lot of things,’ Gonzales told Collider.
‘I think we designed something that is very photographable and scary and detailed. I don’t know if some of the older movies had some of the stunt techniques that we have now, the wirework, and the fact that we can kind of fly the Xeno around and stuff like that,’ he continued.
‘So it’s not so much just coming out and scaring you and having that kind of jump scare. It’s literally flying through the air. It’s chasing. There’s a lot that supports the fact that you see it, and I don’t know if those other films had that.’
Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on FX and streams on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
