- Miles Teller said his experience with media coverage in the past changed how he handles press today.
- Miles Teller pointed back to a 2015 Esquire magazine profile that portrayed him in a negative way.
- Miles Teller explained that even though some media reports may not fully show who he is, people who actually work with him on film sets know his real personal
Miles Teller has opened up about why he still avoids written interviews while promoting his new film Paper Tiger at the Cannes Film Festival. The actor, who stars alongside Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in James Gray's film, said his experience with media coverage in the past changed how he handles press today.
Teller pointed back to a 2015 Esquire magazine profile that portrayed him in a negative way, as the writer called him a “Kind of a D**k”. He explained that after reading the story, he believed parts of it were misrepresented or taken out of context, which left him frustrated. Because of that experience, the Top Gun star said he decided to avoid written profiles going forward.
He shared that he worried about being misquoted or having conversations edited in a way that changes their meaning when they are not recorded on camera. Teller added that he found it upsetting to see a version of himself in print that he did not recognise.
In a conversation with IndieWire, Miles Teller said, “That was so mishandled. The reason why I have not done profiles is because I said, ‘Wow, if I'm not doing this interview on camera, this person can misquote things or put things out of order or say things that didn't happen.' It felt like such a violation of what actually transpired.”
“I told my team, ‘Guys, I don't think I'm doing this again, because I'm reading this and this doesn't sound like me to me. This is not life, so why would I ever want to be a part of something where they can just put that in?' So it's unfortunate that being a good person that doesn't sell. People want to click on the negativity. If you go to bed and put your head on your pillow and how you treat people truly, that's what matters. That [2015] interview was like 12 years ago.”
Miles Teller explained that even though some media reports may not fully show who he is, people who actually work with him on film sets know his real personality. He said that “the actors, the directors, the crew, the producers” spend enough time with him during filming and it is not possible to pretend or hide your character in that environment.
After the negative press experience, Teller went on to star in Fantastic Four. His biggest career success came in 2022 with Top Gun: Maverick. He is also expected to return as Rooster in the third Top Gun film alongside Tom Cruise. More recently, Teller appeared as Michael Jackson's attorney John Branca in the biopic Michael and also starred in the film Eternity, where he is part of a love triangle with Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner.