Our correspondent Justine Browning caught up with Teller to talk about his incredible career thus far.
Here of course there’s a retrospectives so early into your career which I think is incredible. When you look back at the Miles that stepped onto set for Rabbit Hole, to your last project Bleed for This, what would you say is the biggest difference?
Miles Teller: I think it’s really just I’m a lot more comfortable now. That is a huge understatement. When I was the set of Rabbit Hole I literally went from taking classes at NYU, doing scenes with people my own age, to boom you’re on set and you’re about to do scene with Nicole Kidman. There was no rehearsal or nothing, I was very nervous. I feel like that worked for the character, but now I don’t know I’m not as gracious.
I think you kind of feel like you’re here for a reason, especially like if your the lead of a movie. It’s really on your shoulders to be a leader on set. Yeah, you’re the kind of decided narrative, you’re a very focused narrative of that story. I don’t know. I take it with a lot of commitment. I’m very serious about it.
You played so many fascinating characters in just such a short time, and a lot of these characters are based on real people. I’d love if you could talk a bit about what you learned from some these key roles that you’ve played.
Miles Teller: I think with Bleed for This yeah it’s based on a real guy, and he’s still is the only guy I’ve played that really has kind of a public figure, and a public persona. It’s important, and you’re taking these people’s lives and you’re putting it on screen. With Bleed for This we’re putting his parents on screen have passed away. Yeah, it’s just really important. I think when you play a real character there’s a lot more resources there in terms of the building blocks.
You have a voice, I knew that I needed to get close to … There were mannerisms that I could just kind of take on. Sometimes you don’t have that, but I don’t know if somebody’s making a movie about my life I hope that they would take it very seriously. You try and honor these guys that you’re playing really.
For Stonestreet Studios I understand that there’s an aspect of the training that focuses on the business side of the entertainment industry, and being an actor. Can you recall what you learned when you were training in that way?
Miles Teller: It just felt very professional to me. I think especially … There’s a guy here Ted and he teaches an audition class. I remember he actually told me, because he was in the casting community for a long time, and he actually told me after my Rabbit Hole audition he goes, “You’re going to get this,” because he had just heard from somebody. I don’t know. You walk into the studio and there’s like coffee machines, and there’s cats, and it’s just very laid back.
It couldn’t have more different from my theater training at NYU. They’re both very important to me, but I just feel like Stonestreet very closely mimicked what I wanted to do, and that was these film auditions, and to get those scripts. It’s a versatile program too. We’re doing everything from commercials, to soap opera, to sitcom acting, to all these different formats.
The teachers are either working, or have worked, but a lot of them are still auditioning, still making movies. I’ve had film directors watch my stuff that I did in Stonestreet when they were figuring out if they’re going to cast me or not. That’s a credit to the program.
Absolutely. I would love to know, how do you see it carrying you through to what you would like to accomplish in your career going forward?
Miles Teller: There’s a lot of stuff that I learned in college that I’m still learning. NYU is a wonderful program. These kids are in acting class three days a week for eight hours a day. They’re not going to get that outside of college. For me it just felt like with anything you do it’s a reflection on hours practiced, and if you want to be really great at something you got to put a ton of time into it, and NYU encourages that and really facilitates that.
