Why Does Wendy From ‘Alien: Earth’ Look So Familiar?
Sydney Chandler in “Alien: Earth.”
FX Networks/Hulu
The new Alien prequel series Alien: Earth stars Sydney Chandler in the lead role of Wendy, the first synthetic being to be given a human consciousness. What else has Chandler starred in?
Created by Noah Hawley (Fargo), Alien: Earth debuted on Hulu on streaming and FX on cable on Tuesday. The logline for the series reads, “When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in FX’s Alien: Earth.”
Alien: Earth also stars Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, a synthetic who is in charge of training Wendy and a group of soldiers known as “hybrids,” since they are humanoid robots with artificial intelligence. Also among the soldiers are humans, including the tactical officer and medic Hermit (Alex Lawther), who is Wendy’s brother.
Born Feb. 13, 1996, and raised outside of Austin, Texas, Sydney Chandler is the daughter of Friday Night Lights, Bloodline and Mayor of Kingstown star Kyle Chandler. Sydney Chandler made her screen debut in 2016 in a small supporting role in the indie comedy The Golden Rut and a guest role in the Facebook Watch series SKAM Austin in 2019.
Chandler’s breakthrough role happened in a 2022 miniseries where she played a music legend, which was followed by two other roles, which explains why she looks so familiar.
Sydney Chandler in “Pistol.”
FX Networks/Hulu
‘Pistol’ (2022)
Sydney Chandler played rock icon Chrissie Hynde in her early years in the FX Network/Hulu miniseries Pistol, a biographical drama about legendary British punk rock band The Sex Pistols.
Hynde, of course, went on to have a successful career with her group The Pretenders, recording such classic hits as “Brass in Pocket,” “Back on the Chain Gang” and “I’ll Stand By You.” The Pretenders were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: (L-R) Gemma Chan, Harry Styles, Sydney Chandler, director Olivia Wilde and Chris Pine attend the “Don’t Worry Darling” red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 05, 2022 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)
WireImage
‘Don’t Worry Darling’ (2022)
Sydney Chandler stars in the supporting role of Violet in director Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling.
In Don’t Worry Darling — which stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine — Chandler plays Violet, a resident in the idyllic town of Victory, Calif., in the 1950s, where nothing is as it seems.
Sydney Chandler in “Sugar.”
Apple TV+
‘Sugar’ (2024)
Sydney Chandler plays Olivia Siegel in Sugar, an Apple TV+ mystery crime series starring Colin Farrell.
Farrell stars as private detective John Sugar in Sugar, who is investigating the disappearance of Olivia Siegel — the granddaughter of wealthy Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell).
Alien: Earth, starring Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant and Alex Lawther, is new on Hulu on streaming and FX on cable.
Alien: Earth also stars Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adrian Edmondson, David Rysdahl, Essie Davis, Lily Newmark, Erana James, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Kit Young, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El and Sandra Yi Sencindiver.