Miles Teller

BRINGING BACK THE GLAMOUR OF HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY SHUTTERSTOCK

Ifeel fortunate to have been born to parents who were passionate about the movies and who introduced me to charismatic actors like Rock Hudson, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Gregory Peck, and Robert Mitchum. If you are into 1960s and 1970s films, then you know that each of these actors had something so unique that the roles they played seemed tailormade for them. Think of the power of Marlon Brando as the brutish Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, the integrity of Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird or the Machiavellian cruelty of Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear. Many of these actors appear to have a ‘reincarnation’ in current times. When it comes to possessing a singular blend of strength, physicality, and sensitivity, Miles Teller seems to have ‘inherited’ large doses of his predecessors’ magic.

ENTERING THE RABBIT HOLE

The first time many audiences came across Teller was in Rabbit Hole (2010) alongside Nicole Kidman. The film tells the story of a young couple whose fouryear-old son runs into the street after his dog and is struck by a teenage driver (played by Teller). The teenager’s role is difficult; he is wracked with guilt and wishes to make amends. The result is an ensuing friendship/ obsession with Kidman’s character, one that in many ways helps both find meaning from their indescribable pain. Teller, who was in his early 20s at the time, played his character with a minimalist, natural style that often made me forget this was fiction. His performance was a tour de force and it marked him as a future great. It was almost like watching a young DeNiro all over again. ›

The Spectacular Now Top Gun: Maverick

CELEBRATING THE SPECTACULAR NOW

The Spectacular Now (James Ponsoldt, 2013) is hands-down one of the most important coming-of-age films in recent years. In this sensitive work, Teller plays Sutter Keely, a professional evader of responsibilities, a teen who isn’t worried about college or his future, and who shies away from facing the pain of abandonment. His devil-may-care attitude makes him a popular kid at school and his philosophy is one that many of those who live ‘too much in the future’ would benefit from adopting. However, circumstances force him to face his past and make key decisions about where his life is headed. Thankfully, he has the help of an intelligent friend he falls in love with. Once again, Teller portrays this role with so much emotion, honesty, and charm that it is tough to imagine someone else pulling it off. Not surprisingly, the young actor won the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

IS MILES MISUNDERSTOOD?

A bevy of publications have pegged Teller as a bit of a ‘dick’ (he referred to Joaquin Phoenix as ‘Joaq’ in an Esquire interview – something the journalist found distinctly unassuming). It doesn’t help that the actor has an ironic sense of humour that occasionally makes him look like a wise ass. Those who are into psychology might say it is the typical behaviour of an introvert trying to take on extrovert characteristics to ‘belong’ in such a competitive, cutthroat industry.

Since Teller has the clout of actors like Shia LaBeouf or Timothée Chalamet, it is somewhat bemusing to see some of the odd film choices he has made. These include Fantastic Four, 21 & Over, Two Night Stand, Project X, That Awkward Moment, and War Dogs. Chalamet, for instance, has been extremely picky, and his latest film, Bones & All reunites him with cinematic great, Luca Guadagnino (of Call Me By Your Name fame). Teller has openly asserted his ambition; he wishes to “contribute to the catalogue of great acting.” He definitely started at the right places to get noticed, having attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and specialised in method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. In 2009, he obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. He knows he hasn’t got the perfect looks of Chalamet or Daniel Day-Lewis, but once again, let your mind steer back to Robert Mitchum, James Stuart, Donald Sutherland, or Burt Lancaster. Classic good looks are

no prerequisite to greatness on the silver screen.

RISING HIGH

In recent times, you may have seen Teller as Rooster (Goose’s son) in Top Gun: Maverick. What a film! I’m not a big action film fan, but this movie felt like five minutes of magic! It was amazing, as was the chemistry between Teller and the ageless Tom Cruise. Teller will soon be working on Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge (about two people with dangerous characters who find commonality in each other) and Not Without Hope (about a group of friends stranded at sea and struggling for survival). Both are action-based but we hope we get to hear him speak lines as exquisite as those of his character, Sutter Keely, with all the emotion his eyes, body, and voice can portray: “You think beauty is in some classroom or some textbook, and it’s not. That’s not what it’s about. This right here. This is beautiful. All of this. That’s all you need.” e

STILL REELING FROM THE WHIPLASH

If there is one single movie that captures the incredible talent of Miles Teller, it is definitely Whiplash. He plays a young drummer whose passion, ambition, and future are crushed to death by a teacher whose aim is to destroy his pupil (perhaps because the latter is so undeniably gifted). If you haven’t seen this film and are interested in doing so, my advice is to avoid reading anything about it. It has many jaw-dropping moments and an ending that will penetrate your heart and soul, causing you to ponder over it days after you have viewed it.

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