I’m a giant fan of Friday Night Lights, and as such, I have a massive crush on Kyle Chandler, AKA Coach Taylor. He’s tough but fair, has a cute Texas accent and manages to make hideous sunglasses look endearing. Alas, FNL is in its final season, so I only have a finite amount of Coach Taylor left. I’m not sure what stage of grief I’m in, but it was grief that brought me to the theater to see Super 8.
I’m not a sci-fi person at all. However, J.J. Abrams alone meant that there was at least a 50/50 chance I’d check this movie out. But add in Kyle Chandler, and it goes up to 100%. Kyle Chandler as a cop? Off the charts.
Because here is an immutable truth: Kyle Chandler is really hot when he gets angry.
Now, before you start judging me, it’s not like I have a sad thing for angry dudes in general. This is 100% Kyle Chandler-specific. I love watching FNL, because the kids on that show are jerks and he’s constantly pissed at them. But he doesn’t even have to be yelling; quietly intense is even better:
Super 8 was great for a lot of reasons, but Kyle Chandler trying to save his town and his family is really what made it for me. But that’s probably my favorite thing about this film: each person who watches it will have a different experience. As a mother, the family aspects really resonated with me. For others it will be the kids’ adventures, and for others still, it will be the sci-fi aspects. It’s truly a rare film that caters to everyone while not dumbing itself down.
For me, two hours of Kyle Chandler walking around all intensely noble is kind of a perfect movie. He’s flawed, which speaks to the Florence Nightengale in most women, yet ultimately he wants to do the right thing. In the middle though, there’s plenty of him getting super-angry at a lot of people. If I can’t have Coach Taylor much longer, I can only hope that the spirit of Coach Taylor continues to live on in movies like Super 8.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Jun 28, 2011 @ 17:00 EST5EDT
He was great in Super 8, and the whole time I was wondering where I’d seen him before (I don’t watch FNL). Finally, it occurred to me – he’s the hilarious, slightly stupid, slightly heroic movie star in Peter Jackson’s King Kong!
Kyle Chandler is one of the very few actors I’ve heard get the Texas accent right. I grew up in Houston, and most movie/TV Texas accents are completely off the mark. Yes, I know that all Texas accents are not the same, but STILL, most are not like the crap I’ve heard from other actors. He is a very, very good actor, not just a good accent mimic. He’s a class act.
I’ve been a fan of his since the wonderful TV series Homefront and I followed him to Early Edition (never saw an episode of FNL though). He’s one of those low-key actors that turn in solid performances time and again, but never get the true accolades they deserve.