Actress Sydney Chandler was pulled from Variety’s magazine cover after she raised eyebrows while promoting FX’s big-budget “Alien: Earth” series.
Chandler, the daughter of Emmy-winning “Friday Night Lights” star Kyle Chandler, was cast in the lead role of the sci-fi show.
But in the lead up to the show’s drop on Aug. 12, the 29-year-old reportedly ruffled the feathers of several Variety staffers when she refused to participate in a filmed Q&A segment alongside co-star Timothy Olyphant, 57, and showrunner Noah Hawley, 58.
Actress Sydney Chandler was pulled from Variety’s magazine cover after she raised eyebrows while promoting her new show. Getty ImagesIn an article released by the publication Wednesday, Variety claimed that Chandler’s reps had reached out the day before the scheduled shoot to say she was not “willing to participate” in the video.
Her team expressed that she had no interest in sitting down with “two older men” for a game of “How Well Do They Know Each Other?”
Being receptive to her concerns, Variety said, the mag provided the actress with a list of questions that the segment contains ahead of time, and asked Chandler to respond with a list of questions she felt comfortable with.
The alternative proposals her team sent through were not accepted by Variety. Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh then decided to remove her from the cover shoot altogether.
Emails and text messages exchanged between FX, Variety and Chandler’s publicists show the teams trying to negotiate a way for Chandler to shoot the cover the following day.
Chandler, the daughter of Emmy-winning “Friday Night Lights” star Kyle Chandler, was cast in the lead role of the blockbuster sci-fi series “Alien: Earth.” FX
The actress was pulled from the cover, leaving co-star Timothy Olyphant and showrunner Noah Hawley to grace it together. Evan Mulling for VarietyBut the actress pulled out once again after her publicist claimed that she was “very sick.”
Hawley, an Emmy winner best known for creating FX series “Fargo” and “Legion,” told Variety that he was “disappointed” in the leading lady’s behavior.
“The show is built around Sydney’s character, and the work she did as a professional was tremendous,” he told the outlet.
“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.”
In a follow-up interview with the publication, Chandler insisted that she’s “just a private person” who is “new to press.” Getty ImagesIn a follow-up interview with the publication, Chandler insisted that she’s “just a private person” who is “new to press.”
“It’s a bit out of my comfort zone,” she told them. “I was more than happy to talk about anything and everything about the show; that’s what I’m here to promote.”
The Post has reached out to FX, Variety and Chandler for comment.
