Miles Teller has revealed that he stopped doing profile interviews after a 2015 Esquire article described him as “kind of a dick”.
The piece framed the Whiplash actor as purposefully difficult to work with, prompting Teller himself to tweet at the time: “Esquire couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t think there’s anything cool or entertaining about being a dick or an asshole. Very misrepresenting.”
Speaking to IndieWire while at the Cannes Film Festival, the actor reflected on the piece and revealed he had stopped taking in written interview profiles as a result. “That was so mishandled,” he said. “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.’”
@esquire couldn't be more wrong. I don't think there's anything cool or entertaining about being a dick or an asshole. Very misrepresenting
— Miles Teller (@Miles_Teller) August 5, 2015
He said of the piece itself: “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.”
He then said that people within the industry knew his true nature, explaining: “you can’t hide who you are when you’re on set.”
Miles Teller was in Cannes promoting Paper Tiger, directed by James Gray (Ad Astra) and co-starring Scarlett Johansson. He can currently be seen in cinemas as part of the cast of Michael, the biopic of Michael Jackson which recently broke box office records.