Sydney Chandler Is Just a Geek Girl at Heart

Sydney Chandler is in her happy place. She logs on to our video call from a sunny spot behind her lakeside home in Austin, Texas, curled up on a brand-new patio set in a slouchy T-shirt from a local dive bar. Her cat wanders somewhere out of frame. “This is my little abode right now, and it’s just perfect,” she says.

Chandler has earned her moment of peace. When we speak, it’s the day before the season 1 finale of Hulu’s Alien Earth, the trippy, gory expansion of the Alien franchise from Fargo creator Noah Hawley. After smaller roles in Don’t Worry Darling, the neo-noir series Sugar on Apple TV+, and as Chrissie Hynde in FX’s Pistol, the actress is suddenly a celebrity (alongside the show’s other breakout star, a betentacled eyeball with bad intentions).

“Jumping into a big franchise is scary,” she says. “It’s daunting. You show up, and you do the best that you can because that’s all you can do.” The newcomer has taken some slings during this whirlwind of press commitments. But when asked about lessons she’s learned, Chandler responds with grace. “I’ve never done a job this big, ever. I’ve never done a press junket this big, ever. But it’s incredible—I’m full of gratitude for everyone’s kindness and warmth and the reception that this show has garnered.”

Her character, Wendy—a young girl who has her consciousness transplanted into a synthetic adult body—adds to a legacy of powerful female roles, from Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley to the Xenomorph Queen herself. “I appreciate being able to play what feels like a fully formed female personality,” Chandler says. “I am very different from Wendy in a lot of ways. She’s much braver than me and she’s much cooler than me. But when stuff hits the fan? I don’t cower. I jump into action and try to fix it. That’s how I was raised. So being able to play a female character who also is in the mindset of, one foot in front of the other, just feels refreshing.”

Sci-fi themes are also at work in her upcoming road trip drama Anima, from director Brian Tetsuro Ivie—improbably, it’s her first indie film. Many scenes are two-handers, with Chandler in a car alongside Takehiro Hira (of Hulu’s Shōgun). “Jumping into a film like this was cathartic and healing for me in a lot of personal ways,” she says. “There was something about it being just me and Tak, being able to play with another actor for that long. I am quite loud and bouncing off the walls and Tak is cool as a cucumber. But it worked.”

Despite her otherworldly beauty and Hollywood lineage—she is the daughter of Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler—the actress has an endearing Comic-Con energy. “Actually, I wrote a college thesis about that,” she says when I bring up the recent profusion of excellent sci-fi. “After World War I, after World War II, and now post-pandemic, a lot of horror, sci-fi, or surrealism will come out in art, film, and books. It’s a pattern that I find quite beautiful in art, because it’s us trying to play with questions we can’t answer.”

Thus her string of paranormal projects is not a case of Hollywood casting myopia, but the choices of a genuine fan. The material, she says, “pulls at my creative heartstrings. I’ve always been a massive lover of science fiction. I went to school for writing; it’s my jam. I like the stuff that is dark and has nuance. I love horror. Please find me a good horror film! I just want to get covered in blood and scream.”

I worked as a paddle board instructor on Lady Bird Lake here in Austin with my dog. She hated the water, but she loved to come on the paddle board with me.

My favorite film as far as storytelling [goes] is Spirited Away—I’ve seen that movie too many times to count, as well as Princess Mononoke. Those two films changed my writing as well as my understanding of creativity.

Avatar: The Last Airbender. At some point I will choose a live-action film, I promise!

I’m obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. So that’s always been a knock-on-wood scenario.

I want to see Alex Lawther [of Alien Earth and Andor] do more work, because I just think he’s fucking phenomenal.

I love watching Jennifer Lawrence, as well as Emma Stone. They are very grounded, strong performers. And then Florence Pugh. [Don’t Worry Darling] was my first movie, and I remember on wrap day she got me these massive flowers and was such a kind, normal human being who also happens to be incredibly talented. So those three come to mind when I think of women who inspire me in the field.

Go with the flow. [Laughs.] It’s all a game: Every day you’re showing up and the chess board is laid in a completely different setup. And me being someone who likes to know the rules, I love that about this job, because it pushes against that and challenges me in a good way.

“Stay the student.” In work and in life, when you allow yourself to step into the student role, it takes the pressure off you. You’re more open; you’re more curious; you want feedback. You have to stay open to the fact that you don’t know a lot and you want to keep learning.

Honestly, any type of Ethio-jazz is what I’ve been jamming to recently. I don’t find that embarrassing, but my family might find it embarrassing for me.

When in doubt, wear black on black.

Really none. I am in gym clothes the majority of my days, so…Alo?

I have a ridiculous number of random facts saved in my brain that are completely unhelpful for the world. I call them “decorative facts.”

Trying to act! I never wanted to do it, and I always told myself at least on a conscious level that I never would. I was such a shy kid and young adult, so doing something like this was terrifying. And I’m really glad that I did. I’m so glad that I tried.

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THE BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMERS OF 2025