With "Top Gun: Maverick" captivating critics and audience's hearts alike, who isn't thinking
about Miles Teller?
Did you know he got nominated for his kissing skills?
Or that he almost died in a terrible car accident?
All that and more ahead!
Miles Teller grew up in a rural, southern small town in Florida and attended Lecanto
High School, according to Orlando Family Magazine.
His foray into acting happened quite serendipitously at the end of his sophomore year when his
friend was trying out for a play and he tagged along.
According to Mail Tribune, after partaking in his first production, he was hooked.
It didn't hurt that his drama teacher, Beth Bedee, was, quote, "pretty hot," which he
told The Guardian was the reason he started acting.
He further explained to the Mail Tribune,
"From there Beth kind of started basing plays around me.
[...] [S]he saw something in me."
In fact, when TMZ asked him about his instructor, he said that Bedee did in fact know that he
thought she was very attractive, but he never acted on his impulses.
When he went on to college, he continued studying acting at the prestigious Tisch School of
the Arts at New York University.
And although he now has a net worth of $14 million, he still owes money from his college
days.
He explained to Vulture that his business manager advised him not to pay it off since
the interest is very low.
He said,
"I can, if I want to have that badge of accomplishment, but until then I still very much have my NYU
loans."
Although Miles Teller liked to socialize in high school, he also excelled academically,
even staying after school to partake in extracurricular activities.
He told Vanity Fair,
"My buddies and I threw all the parties [...] but I was also in National Honors Society, president
of Drama Club, in Key Club, and honors classes."
One of the shows he performed in Drama Club was "Footloose," where he played Willard,
the sidekick to the protagonist, Ren.
As fate would have it, six years later, when he was 24, he was cast as the same character
in the movie adaptation!
Teller told Black Book,
"That was just a weird coincidence, especially because they thought they had the movie cast
three years before I was even eligible to audition for this thing."
For his performance, Elle called him a "breakout star," and the film's director, Craig Brewer,
gushed to the magazine, saying,
"When Miles would come in to read, I was just like, 'This is my secret weapon.'"
It was also in this movie where Teller showcased some of his dance moves, as he strutted his
stuff to "Let's Hear It for the Boy."
"This is friggin' awesome.
Are you looking at this?
This is — this is beautiful."
In 2007, Miles Teller was involved in a near-fatal accident and was told he was lucky to have
survived.
The then 20-year-old was in the car with his friends, traveling back home to Florida after
a festival.
His friend lost control of their vehicle while he was driving at 80 mph and the car flipped
eight times, ejecting Teller.
He told ABC News,
"The car landed and I was just laying like 50 feet from the car, unconscious, covered
in blood."
He was later given a staggering statistic: 99.9% of people ejected from a car at that
speed would have died, per The Guardian.
As a result of his injuries, he had 20 staples put into his shoulder and underwent multiple
facial surgeries.
In fact, there are still rocks embedded in his face because removing them would cause
more scarring.
Teller explained that before the facial surgeries, the scars caused him to lose jobs, saying
to ABC,
"When I first started auditioning, people were straight up just like, 'Yeah, Miles is
a good actor, [but it] doesn't make sense for this character to have scars.'"
Interestingly enough, the actor has gone on to star in multiple films that involve car
crashes like "Rabbit Hole," "Bleed for This," and "Whiplash."
It was at a Grammys afterparty, for the rock band the Black Keys in 2013, that Miles Teller
met his future wife, model and actress Keleigh Sperry.
The pair had mutual pals, who were also friends of the "Lonely Boy" crooners.
The actor explained that he noticed the brunette beauty early on in the evening and the two
struck up a conversation.
"Would you wanna go out with me, ever?"
He said to Vogue,
"I didn't think it went well, but after a few more attempts, I got her to dance with
me, and a week later, we went on a date.
After we met, I knew she was the one."
When it came time to get down on one knee, Teller planned something elaborate while the
couple was on a safari in Africa.
According to People, he led his leading lady to a tree that had a note tied to it displaying
the date their courtship began, as well as the date of the in-progress proposal.
He got down on one knee and said,
"This was the first day that I asked you to be my girlfriend, and today was the last day
you woke up as my girlfriend."
Miles Teller has starred alongside Shailene Woodley four times, and the dynamic duo has
already signed on to do another film together.
Their friendship began in 2012, when they were cast as love interests in "The Spectacular Now."
In the coming-of-age drama, Teller plays an immature high-school senior whose late-bloomer
classmate, played by Woodley, changes his outlook on life.
The actress had seen her future costar in "Rabbit Hole," so assumed the actor was shy
in real life.
She later told MTV,
"He is the opposite of that, and we just naturally hit it off."
She also credited him with helping her have fun on set when she was caught up in a serious moment.
She added,
"And I think I help ground [him] in a way that's perhaps more natural than his other choices."
The besties went on to star in all three movies in the "Divergent" franchise.
In fact, when the trailer for the first film in the trilogy was released at the 2013 VMAs,
the pair sparked dating rumors for looking a little too cozy.
They spent the night posing on the red carpet, taking selfies, and whispering in each other's
ears, so it's not hard to see why!
Teller, however, dispelled the rumor in an interview with Elle.
The pair also spends time together when they aren't on set.
When Woodley was engaged to Aaron Rodgers, they went with Teller and his wife on a couples'
outdoor adventure, and later to the Kentucky Derby.
In 2015, Miles Teller starred in "Fantastic Four," a superhero movie inspired by the Marvel
comics, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell.
The flick, which racked up multiple Razzie Awards, tanked at the box office.
It was made on a production and marketing budget of a staggering $200 million, but only
made $56 million domestically.
After it was released, it was criticized harshly, with critic Matt Zoller Seitz saying,
"[It felt] longer than an afternoon spent at the DMV."
The Atlantic called it,
"A dull, sour, claustrophobic mess."
Teller opened up about how he felt about all the criticism on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
He explained that people thought that the actors didn't put enough effort into the expensive,
yet poorly-rated, project, which couldn't be farther from the truth.
Teller explained,
"You work harder on the bad films, or the films that turn out maybe not the way you
intended, because something's not working.
And I thought it was kind of unjustly critiqued that way."
When he was young, Miles Teller was not afraid to be involved in all sorts of musical activities.
Although, as he told Harper's Bazaar, he was not a "band geek" either.
Throughout his early years, he dabbled in different instruments, and, as a result, can
play the piano and saxophone.
He was also in marching band in middle school, and even played in a youth-group church rock
band, according to Elle.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, he revealed a pretty remarkable fact: He taught himself
how to play the drums at 15 because he thought drummers were, quote, "the coolest guys."
"I just felt like I had a natural, you know, knack for it, and I picked it up pretty quick."
In the film "Whiplash," Miles Teller showcases his skills with a set of drum sticks.
In the 2014 drama, the actor played a student at a music conservatory who endures the wrath
of its ruthless bandleader.
The musically inclined actor actually did all of the drumming that was seen in the film.
He told IndieWire,
"I mean this movie for me was by far the closest I've come to life imitating art."
In fact, his character tries so hard at the instrument that he practices so ferociously
that his hands bleed!
And some of that blood on screen is actually Teller's, as he confirmed to IndieWire,
"I did have some blood, [just] not nearly as much as my character had."
Throughout his career, Miles Teller has been recognized for his outstanding work on screen.
In 2014 he was nominated (with costars Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan in "That Awkward
Moment") for a Young Hollywood Award for Best Threesome.
He was also nominated twice as a Scene Stealer at the Teen Choices Awards for playing Peter
in "Allegiant" and "Insurgent."
And at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, he earned a total of three nods for "Whiplash."
In 2014, the MTV Movie Awards rewarded Teller with a nomination for a very particular skill
— lip-locking with Shailene Woodley in "The Spectacular Now."
The actress told E! News,
"It's funny, because I feel like usually Best Kiss [nominees] are these hot, romantic moments
at MTV, you know?
And ours was very sweet and innocent, lots of naïveté."
Although their first kiss in the film is ultra adorable and undoubtedly award-worthy, Teller
let People in on a little secret.
His costar had foul-smelling clay supplements in her mouth at the time!
In the end, the duo was beat out by Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter for
their noteworthy smooch in "We're The Millers."
In an interview with MTV, Teller gave his tips on the proper kissing technique, which
included taking control, locking eyes, and complimenting your partner.
"It's a pretty good opportunity right now."
"What is?"
"This.
Right here."
Although he makes more than enough cash with his lucrative movie career, the actor still
pads his bank account with an additional gig.
According to Forbes, it all began when he was at a Manhattan liquor store and met the
founders of Long Drink, a Finnish canned liquor that's a mix of gin, grapefruit, and soda.
After he sampled their unique drink, he was hooked, saying,
"I kept hitting up these guys to stock me up."
As a result, he'd get the booze shipped to his house and disperse it to family and friends.
Then, he came to the realization that instead of asking for the product, he could become
a partial owner in the company.
The actor-turned-beverage-owner stressed the fact that his partnership is in not simple
a celebrity endorsement, saying,
"For me, this is just a matter of showing how Long Drink fits in with my lifestyle,
in an organic way.
I really believe in it."
Miles Teller has something in common with his fellow actors Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence,
Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, and George Clooney, in that he doesn't have an Instagram account.
In an interview with Playboy, he explained that the aversion to the 'Gram stems from
the fact that people tend to be on their phones too much.
Teller said,
"I've been told that having an Instagram account will help me book more roles, get more endorsement deals.
I want to build my fan base through movies and movies alone."
In order to get a glimpse into Teller's personal life, fans will have to peruse his wife Keleigh
Sperry's IG.
Thankfully, hers is replete with photos of events like his 35th birthday party, their
wedding day, and an Italian vacation.
Although he spurns Instagram, Teller does use Twitter, using the platform to share information
about his upcoming projects and alcohol company.
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