There are times in an actor's career in which success on the small screen can lead morph into box office success. This is the case when it comes to Kyle Chandler. Beginning his career in 1986, Chandler played mainly supporting roles before landing his first major lead in 1996 with Early Edition. While that CBS series put Chandler on the radar, it was his portrayal as Eric Taylor in the acclaimed NBC drama Friday Night Lights that served as his career breakthrough. Using his role as the firm-but-caring high school football coach of the Dillon Panthers as a catalyst, Chandler would go on to play significant roles in some of the more critically-acclaimed movies of the past two decades.

During this run, Chandler could always be relied upon to play a variety of roles. From an FBI agent trying to chase down the Wolf of Wall Street, an actor who unexpectedly finds himself on the same island as a 25-foot gorilla, or a gambling alcoholic who is trying to reconcile with his neglected son, Chandler has managed to portray a diverse collection of roles that have invoked laughter, tears, and sympathy among viewers. In just a sampling of his immense resume, here are Kyle Chandler's 10 best movie roles, ranked.

10 Deke Slayton

Movie: 'First Man' (2018)

Director Damien Chazelle, who was coming off of the box office juggernaut La La Land in 2016, made his follow-up film a historical story about the men on the Apollo 11 mission that landed on the moon in 1969. First Man is a drama about how the outer space mission allowed Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) to cope with the death of a child. The film deals with the intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Space Race, and Chandler underlines the gravity of the conflict in one of the film's most important scenes.

Chandler has an important role as Deke Slayton, who conveys the importance and potential dangers of the Gemini program to Armstrong and the other astronauts. Slayton's speech about the importance of being the first to the moon adds intensity to the story, as it gives Armstrong and the other astronauts a limited amount of time to complete their mission. Chandler perfectly conveys Slayton's gruff, no-nonsense attitude. The film’s nuanced depiction of the hazards of space travel suggests that both Chandler and Chazelle have a tremendous amount of respect for the men in the Apollo 11 program.

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9 Jack Lamb

Movie: 'Super 8' (2011)

Although he’s best known for his work in the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible franchises, director J.J Abrams proved with Super 8 that he could create an emotionally compelling science fiction adventure based on an original concept. Super 8 tells a compassionate story about how an alien invasion draws a father, Jack Lamb (Chandler) and son Joe (Joel Courtney), closer together and Chandler does a great job at playing a grieving father who doesn’t know how to communicate with his child.

Ironically, it takes an alien invasion for the two to get connected on a personal level. Jack isn't sure how to care for Joe after his wife's death, and Chandler shows how his gruff attitude masks his feelings. Chandler brings a sense of emotional authenticity to a film that deals with a lot of science fiction concepts. It's impressive that, in the midst of the spectacle, he was able to retain the film's heart.

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8 Bruce Baxter

Movie: 'King King' (2005)

Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong stays remarkably faithful to the original 1933 film. It’s evident that Jackson adored the original King Kong, as he was hesitant to change any of the significant events or characters. However, with Jackson’s version running longer than the original (nearly three hours in running time), he was able to flesh out some of the supporting characters that only played brief roles in the original film. Among the characters that are given more to do in Jackson’s version is Chandler’s character Bruce Baxter, a pretentious actor who expects to be the lead in the film shot on Skull Island.

The characters within a King Kong movie are usually secondary to the creature fights, but admirably, Chandler imbues the film with a healthy dosage of humor, which doesn't make it seem as though he's simply there to be background fodder for the wrath of Kong. Jackson's King Kong can get overly serious at times, and so having a character who can add a few jokes is very beneficial. Chandler's roles tend to be more serious, so letting him flex his comedic muscles was a welcome change of pace.

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7 Joseph Bradley

Movie: 'Zero Dark Thirty' (2012)

2012’s Zero Dark Thirty is one of the most controversial films of the last decade. It's unclear whether Kathryn Bigelow was admonishing or lionizing the use of torture in capturing terrorists, but the film’s unflinching depiction of waterboarding certainly doesn’t make it any easier to watch. However, it certainly can’t be said that Bigelow wasn’t respectful of the real veterans that worked to uncover the terrorist network. She treats many of the military characters, including Chandler’s CIA Station Chief Joseph Bradley, with the respect and accuracy that their stature deserves.

Chandler does a great job at showing Bradley's lack of moral clarity. While he is convinced that finding the terrorists responsible for 9/11 is just a cause, he's willing to use unethical practices in order to achieve that goal. Chandler's performance is important because the film isn't trying to cast judgment on its characters. He does a great job at ensuring that characters like Bradley aren't perceived to be heroes.

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6 Thomas Keely

Movie: 'The Spectacular Now' (2013)

Chandler has played his fair share of endearing, likable father figures before, but The Spectacular Now gave him the chance to act against type. He co-stars as Tommy Keely, an alcoholic gambler whose demons kept him from having a true relationship with his son, Sutter (Miles Teller). The lack of attention that Sutter received from his father has haunted him for his entire life. Chandler is in the film for a very brief, albeit very uncomfortable scene where the two are given the chance to reconcile.

However, it’s evident that his presence has a significant effect on Sutter and his relationship with his girlfriend Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). It takes a truly great actor to give a one scene performance that completely changes the nature of the story. It’s after Sutter’s meeting that he begins to lose track of his priorities in fear of becoming his father.

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5 Joe Chandler

Movie: 'Manchester by the Sea' (2016)

Chandler’s role in Manchester by the Sea is brief, but his performance as a father whose death from a heart attack leaves his son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), without a parental figure that he can look up to made this role emotionally memorable, proving that a talented actor doesn't need a lot of screen-time to make an emotional impact on the story.

Patrick seeks the guidance and love of Joe’s brother Lee (Casey Affleck), but the two men struggle to balance their very different lifestyles. The opening flashback scenes of Joe and Patrick together help set up the story on a riveting note; Joe’s death continues to have repercussions as both Lee and Patrick grieve. Manchester by the Sea may be too heartbreaking to watch more than once, but it's one of the rare films that shows the difficulty of the grieving process. Chandler is so charming in the early scenes that his death is even more emotional.

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4 Brooks Davis

Movie: 'Game Night' (2018)

Game Night is simply one of the funniest films of the past decade. Although the premise itself is absurd, Game Night’s directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were able to craft a compelling story about characters that struggle with issues of responsibility. The film ended up being a breakout feature for Daley and Goldstein before they went on to direct the underrated fantasy adventure Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Among these compelling characters is the happily married man Max Davis (Jason Bateman), who is convinced that he’s not having as much fun as his more freewheeling brother Brooks (Chandler). Bateman and Chandler do a great job at showing how the ibling rivlary they had as children continues to impact them as adults. It takes an encounter with real criminals for Max to learn that Brooks should be looking up to him, and not the other way around. Chandler shows that Brooks' irresponsible lifestyle isn't sustainable, even if it seems more exciting to Max compared to the suburban backdrop.

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3 Hamilton Jordan

Movie: 'Argo' (2012)

Argo tells an incredible story that would seem fictitious if it wasn’t true. The film follows the maverick CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), who is assigned to rescue American citizens that are held hostage in Iran at the American embassy. Mendez conceives of a strange plan to transport the hostages out of the country safely by pretending that they are on the crew of a science fiction film similar to Star Wars or Planet of the Apes. Mendez’s plan is met with skepticism by Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan (Chandler), who is convinced that the plan is a terrible idea.

Jordan’s opposition to the radical rescue plan makes Mendez’s situation seem more desperate. The confusion that Jordan expresses upon hearing Mendez's plan helps to underline what a risky prospect the mission actually was. Chandler towers over Affleck in these scenes, and convincingly plays a stern figure of authority.

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2 Patrick Denham

Movie: 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street is a much more satirical film than it is given credit for. The film explores how a highly influential, privileged character like Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is able to elude paying any real consequences for his crimes because of how charismatic he is. This satirical point is made clear in the film’s final moments. Chandler does a great job at giving a tragic performance in an otherwise hilarious movie.

Jordan has rebounded as an economic advisor after being prematurely released from prison, but his captor, FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Chandler), is doomed to ride the subway to work like nothing has changed. The tragic irony is that Denham will never be able to get Belfort to face the ramifications of his actions. He is destined to spend his entire life working for the sort of lifestyle that Belfort takes for granted.

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1 Harge Aird

Movie: 'Carol' (2015)

Todd Haynes’ gorgeous 2015 drama Carol is a heartbreaking romantic film, and Chandler is absolutely essential to the tragedy at the center of the story. Carol succeeds as a beautiful celebration of LGBTQ relationships in film that does not shy away from the evils of bigotry and intolerance.

He stars as Harge Aird, a wealthy New Yorker who discovers that his wife Carol (Cate Blanchett) is having an affair with a shop girl (Rooney Mara). Harge goes out of his way to demonize his wife, ruining the one happy relationship that Carol ever had. Harge’s bigotry and lack of empathy for Carol make him the most truly unlikeable character that Chandler has ever played. While Blanchett and Mara received Academy Award nominations for their work, Chandler’s performance was ignored by the Oscars; perhaps he was just too good at playing a monster.

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