Men's Health September 29, 2026 0 Comments

Why Kyle Chandler’s Role as Hal Jordan in Lanterns Could Redefine His Legendary Career — And What That Means for Fans Now

Ever stumble across a show or movie and suddenly think, “Whoa, that actor was made for this role”? It’s like spotting the perfect protein shake combo after endless trial and error—it just clicks. That’s exactly the vibe Kyle Chandler brings as Hal Jordan in Lanterns—an old-school, rugged take on Earth’s first Green Lantern that’s so spot-on, it makes you wonder if anyone else could ever fill those shoes (and honestly, maybe they shouldn’t). At 61, Chandler struts that line between heroic charm and just the right dash of cocky attitude, carving a signature that’s tough to top. But hold up—this kind of magic isn’t fresh off the bat for him. Remember Coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights? Chandler nailed that role so flawlessly, “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” became etched in our minds forever. Trust me, if you’re digging his swagger in Lanterns, diving into his past work is like unlocking a treasure chest of stellar performances—each one a lesson in owning the screen, whether TV or film. Curious to see why everything’s better with Chandler in the mix? Let’s break down the career of one of modern TV and film’s most unforgettable leads. LEARN MORE

4 min read

SOMETIMES YOU’LL PUT on a show or movie, see an actor in a role, and everything will suddenly make sense. It’s not often that a performer is absolutely perfect for a part, and it’s hard to describe, exactly, the feeling that you get when someone is perfect. But just like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said about hardcore pornography in 1964, “I know it when I see it.”

Many viewers of Lanterns have undoubtedly felt this sensation watching the show and seeing the swagger that Kyle Chandler brings to the table as an old, rugged take on Hal Jordan, Earth’s first Green Lantern. Chandler feels so right in the role that it’s hard to imagine anyone else ever embodying the character—and that’s probably for the best (despite the fact that others have tried their best in the past). The fact that the 61-year-old actor can be so believably heroic, full of charm, and, yeah, a bit of a cocky asshole all at the same time, puts a signature stamp on the character that will be hard for anyone else ever playing Hal Jordan to match.

But these kinds of personalities are nothing new for Chandler. In fact, it’s not even his first ever perfect role on television. He previously won an Emmy for his role as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, bringing that swagger to television and making “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” synonymous with Texas football for life for anyone who’s ever seen the show.

That’s just the beginning, though. Even outside of his iconic roles new and old, Chandler has made a tremendous career both on television and in films, working with directors who’ve deployed him differently each time—but almost always to great perfection.

If you’ve been loving Lanterns and haven’t ever seen Friday Night Lights, that’s a great place to start—it’ll be your new favorite television binge. But if you have, don’t worry: There are way more ways to enjoy Kyle Chandler on your screens at his absolute best.

Watch Lanterns Here

Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan—and is a modern legend of film and TV

Kevin Winter//Getty Images

While Chandler seems to embody a certain brand of Texas swagger, he was actually born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Illinois before spending time in Georgia and eventually attending the University of Georgia (where he dropped out seven credits shy of a degree in pursuit of a television career).

We wouldn’t normally endorse such a decision, but it’s clearly worked out for Chandler, who’s become one of the all-time greats on the small screen. He’s had main cast roles in a number of short-lived, forgotten series (like the Joan Cusack-led sitcom What About Joan? and the NBC legal drama The Lyon’s Den), but he’s best known for taking on key and leading roles in some of the very best shows of the prestige television era.

He’ll probably forever be best known as Coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights, a role that won him a Primetime Emmy in 2011. But he also led CBS’s underrated genre-bending comedy-fantasy-adventure show about a man who receives a magical newspaper a full day early called Early Edition (which ran for four seasons and 90 episodes), had a key four-episode run on Grey’s Anatomy, and also led Netflix’s early streaming hit Bloodline. More recently, he appeared in the George Clooney-directed limited series adaptation of Catch-22 as the sadistic Col. Cathcart, the first episode of Mayor of Kingstown, and the true story of Uber in Super Pumped.

His movie career has been equally impressive. One of his first major roles came in Peter Jackson’s 2005 version of King Kong, where he played vain movie star Bruce Baxter. He went on to appear in a number of genre films and thrillers of note, including Peter Berg’s The Kingdom in 2007, J.J. Abrams’s Super 8 in 2011, and Broken City in 2013.

Paramount

He’s really broken through as a supporting player in dramas from major directors, though. He played FBI Agent Carl Denham, going toe-to-toe with Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, in addition to a sea of auteur-driven projects that include but are not limited to Ben Affleck’s Argo, Todd Haynes’s Carol, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea, Damien Chazelle’s First Man, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.

Perhaps his most Hal Jordan-esque roles have come in two movies that are otherwise pretty different: In Game Night he played Jason Bateman’s fun-loving, risk-taking brother who gets everyone in big trouble; in The Rip, which co-starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and debuted on Netflix earlier this year, he plays a high-wire law enforcement official who steals every scene he’s in.

Chandler is a rare breed: He’s a leading man when he needs to be, who also manages to bring leading man energy even in a supporting role—which allows him to steal scenes and moments right out from underneath people.

In short? Everything is always better with him in it.

Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.