Miles Teller reveals why he avoided interviews after the viral “d***” story. He spoke about the unfortunate experience while promoting his new film, Paper Tiger, at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. He reflected on being described as “kind of a d***” in a 2015 profile for Esquire, which left a sour taste in his mouth.
Miles Teller opens up about why he avoids big interview
Miles Teller finally confessed that he has largely avoided big interviews after the 2015 Esquire profile described him as “kind of a d***”. Esquire had written that Teller’s “quest for greatness” seemingly involved “a bit of dickishness too.” Esquire also penned that Teller would “charm the world with his dickishness.”
In a conversation with IndieWire, the 39-year-old revealed the impact that the negative experience had on him. The Eternity star said, “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. It felt like such a violation of what actually transpired.'”
Teller recalled that the incident left a sour taste in his mouth, and he requested that his team steer clear of interviews. The Top Gun: Maverick star said, “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?'”
Continuing further, Teller ranted, “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 interview was like 12 years ago.”
Elsewhere in the new interview, he explained that some people might remember him from the infamous Esquire profile. However, there are people who appreciate his work ethic, and that’s what matters to him. “The actors, the directors, the crew, the producers, you can’t hide who you are when you’re on set,” he added.
