You’ve Most Definitely Heard Of Sydney Chandler’s Dad

If you’re planning on tuning in to Disney Plus’ Pistol, get ready for a stand-out performance from 25-year-old newcomer Sydney Chandler, who stars alongside Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Talulah Riley in the Sex Pistols biopic. Tasked with the challenge of playing Pretenders legend (and one-time employee of Vivienne Westwood’s Kings Road boutique SEX) Chrissy Hynde, she rises to the occasion, digging deeper into the sexism that ran through the ‘70s punk scene, and the isolation that Hynde felt as she was sidelined by her male peers. Not to mention there’s some top-notch vocal performances from Chandler on the show. The question is, what does she get up to when she’s not portraying new wave icons?

Pistol might be Chandler’s first big telly role, but you may well recognise her from playing Eve in the 2019 US remake of Skam — a Skins-esque Norwegian teen drama with a cult following. Chandler also features in the forthcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde, and starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh. According to Deadline, Chandler studied with casting director and acting coach Laurel Vouvray ahead of her first major film role.

Acting clearly runs in the family; her dad is Kyle Chandler, who has starred in the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, The Wolf of Wall Street, Argo. He’s been married to screenwriter Kathryn Macquarrie since 1995, after the couple first met in a dog park. Their other daughter Sawyer is six years younger than Sydney, and campaigned against shark finning alongside her dad as a kid. Sydney grew up in Topanga, California, and was raised with fewer of the glitzy bells and whistles that can sometimes come with having a celebrity parent. “I believe kids are supposed to get dirty and have fun,” Kyle told Men’s Health. “When we have people over the house, I'll fire up the grill outside and we'll have good food, but it's potluck. I love what I do, but I don't need the lavish lifestyle that's supposed to go with it."

Sydney Chandler hasn’t publicly confirmed if she’s in a relationship. She appears to share a close bond with her Pistol co-star Louis Partridge, 18, who plays Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious on the show. Last Christmas, the pair were pictured on Instagram during a trip to Paris, and they recently posed on the red carpet together at the Pistol premiere in London’s Leicester Square.

Chandler’s Instagram account is @sydneychandler_. Head for the Pistol cast candids, stay for the exceptional dog content.