“It’s unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn’t sell,” Teller said while promoting his latest project at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Miles Teller stopped doing big interviews after viral story described him as a ‘dick’: ‘That was so mishandled’

"It's unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn't sell," Teller said while promoting his latest project at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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May 20, 2026 1:08 p.m. ET

Miles Teller at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Credit:

Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty

- Miles Teller reflected on being described as "kind of a dick" in a 2015 magazine profile.

- "People want to click on the negativity," Teller said, explaining that the story made him stop giving interviews.

- Teller was promoting his new film* Paper Tiger*, which premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

If it seems like Miles Teller has shied away from the big profiles he did in the early days of his career, that's because he has — and it's largely due to a single 2015 story that left him with less than fond memories.

The actor recently reflected on the aftermath of a viral *Esquire* profile in which he was described as "kind of a dick," quipping that his "quest for greatness" seemingly involves "a bit of dickishness too."

"That was so mishandled," Teller said in a conversation with IndieWire published Tuesday. "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."

Miles Teller attends the 'Paper Tiger' premiere after-party on May 16, 2026.

Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty

Teller, who *Esquire* wrote would "charm the world with his dickishness," recalled deciding to steer clear of long-form interviews after the incident, despite landing a bevy of high-profile roles he'd ideally want to promote.

"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,''" he said. "'This is not life, so why would I ever want to be a part of something where they can just put that in?'"

"So it's unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn't sell," Teller added. "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."

The actor was indeed on a certifiable roll after 2015, appearing in *War Dogs* (2016), *Thank You for Your Service *(2017), and the miniseries *Too Old to Die Young.*

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In 2022, he starred in the Paramount+ miniseries *The Offer* and flew alongside Tom Cruise in *Top Gun: Maverick,* the highest-grossing film in the U.S. that year. He later showed up in the 2025 sci-fi movie *The Gorge* and *Eternity *and can be seen playing manager John Branca in the new Michael Jackson biopic, *Michael*.

Teller told IndieWire that while some people might still remember the *Esquire *profile, what matters more to him is that they know about his work ethic. "The actors, the directors, the crew, the producers, you can't hide who you are when you're on set," he said.

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The actor is currently focused on his latest project, James Gray's* Paper Tiger. *In the 1980s-set film, Teller portrays real-life Queens engineer and family man Irwin Pearl, who is slowly building a solid business when his brother Gary, a former cop played by Adam Driver, offers him a quicker path to success. After the naive Irwin goes for the idea, he ends up seeing something he shouldn't involving the Russian mafia. The movie — which also stars Scarlett Johansson as Irwin's wife, Hester — earned a 10-minute ovation after its premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

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