Kyle Chandler & Corey Stoll Join First Man

Screen Rant

Kyle Chandler & Corey Stoll Join Damien Chazelle’s First Man

By Cooper Hood

Published Jun 20, 2017

La La Land director Damien Chazelle's next film, First Man, casts Kyle Chandler (Bloodline) and Corey Stoll (House of Cards).

Damien Chazelle is on a Hollywood hot streak and has just secured two new leads for First Man with Kyle Chandler and Corey Stoll joining. Chazelle caught the attention of Hollywood a few years back with Whiplash garnering awards buzz, before ultimately being left off of some of the biggest categories. He made a quick turn however into La La Land and found himself on the Oscar stage - with the film being the center of one of the Oscars' biggest mishaps. Still, he walked out of the night with a Best Director award, which helped push along his next project.

First Man will tell the story of the first trip to the moon and center around Neil Armstrong, played by Ryan Gosling. Armstrong was not alone in this journey to the moon, however, giving Chazelle the opportunity to cast an ensemble for the first time. With Gosling already set to star, he now has some other cast mates.

Deadline is reporting that Kyle Chandler has landed a role in First Man as Deke Slayton, a WWII pilot, aeronautical engineer, and member of the Mercury Seven. He is not the only newcomer announced to the cast however as Tracking-Board is also reporting the addition of Corey Stoll. He will be playing Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon merely seconds after Armstrong claimed it first.

Both Chandler and Stoll have had wide ranging careers so far, and have proven their abilities as actors to make them great additions to what Universal and DreamWorks are hoping to be another awards contender from the mind of Chazelle. Chandler just debuted the third season of Bloodline on Netflix, but most recently started filming Godzilla 2. While TV and blockbusters are on his resume, so are awards contenders like The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea, Zero Dark Thirty, Carol, and Argo. Stoll meanwhile doesn't have quite the same awards hits on his resume, but has made an impact on House of Cards and The Strain.

With the movie coming out late next year, casting is starting to ramp up before production begins in the coming months. The additions of Chandler and Stoll help fill out a supporting cast around Gosling, one that previously only had Claire Foy (The Crown) attached. Thanks to how many influential individuals were involved with the space program back in the 1960s, there should be plenty of other names added to the cast list in the coming months. What will be fun to see is how many actors Chazelle has previously worked with board the project in comparison to the talent with which he starts new relationships.