Miles Teller is rewriting the narrative.
In a new profile with IndieWire published on Tuesday, the Top Gun: Maverick star reflected on his infamous 2015 interview with Esquire, which in his opinion, painted him as an “a**hole.” If you’re not familiar, at 28 years old, the movie star appeared as Esquire’s August 2015 cover star — and the outlet did not hesitate to call him a “d**k” while highlighting his perceived defensiveness. The outlet tweeted at the time:
“Miles Teller is on a quest for greatness (with a bit of d**kishness too)”
In response, the Whiplash actor tweeted:
“@esquire couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t think there’s anything cool or entertaining about being a d**k or an a**hole. Very misrepresenting.”
Because of the disparaging article, Miles adopted a media ban, promising he wouldn’t participate for any kind of similar interviews going forward. But it’s been more than 10 years now, and he’s ready to reflect.
In his interview with IndieWire, the now-39-year-old argued:
“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.’”
Valid. He continued:
“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?’”
What an awful feeling! The Michael actor went on:
“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.”
Yeesh. However, Miles recognizes — and appreciates — peers that see through the headlines and the media spectacle:
“The actors, the directors, the crew, the producers … you can’t hide who you are when you’re on set.”
On X (Twitter), fans have sounded off with varying takes:
“Ironically, sounds like kind of a d**k.”
“I mean, a bunch of people who’ve met him and talked to him irl have said he and his wife aren’t very pleasant to talk to. I don’t think it’s because of the press profiles.”
“He literally got into a fist fight with Josh [Trank], the director of FANT4STIC, on the set of the movie.”
“‘It’s unfortunate being a good person’ is exactly what a dick would say”
“Anyone who calls themselves a good person — Not saying you’re not, but — I’m cautious of people like that”
Others felt more in line with defending Miles:
“tough how negativity sells these days.”
“I can see why he’d be cautious after that experience. Misquotes can be really damaging to someone’s reputation.”
“In his defense, this interviewer just sounds like an annoying person””
“There is a very simple solution and it’s unclear why the miles teller team doesn’t advise him to do this. Teller can simply let the interviewer know that he records all interviews for himself as backup in case. And if the interviewer is recording as well, then great.”
What are YOUR takes here, Perezcious readers? Be sure to let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via FayesVision/MEGA/WENN]
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