Miles Teller Plays 20 Questions With Playboy

Miles Teller is playing 20 questions in the September issue of Playboy. The “War Dogs” star shares his thoughts on everything from social media and bad press to evolving beyond bro culture.

Teller, who mostly likes to fly under the radar, says that the public has a warped perception of who he really is off-screen. “You can read whatever or say whatever about me, but I care about doing interesting work. I’m not in this for fame. I don’t play the social media game,” he says. “All I want to do is walk into a room with actors and collaborate.”

Most recently, that means collaborating with Jonah Hill in the gunrunner comedy “War Dogs”. For the actor, who got his start playing bros in the teen party movies “21 & Over” and “Project X” says that being mislabel is part of the territory.

“I made ’21 & Over’ and ‘Project X’ in close proximity. Then when people see me at a party it’s like, ‘Miles is this bro.’ It’s not that I’m not,” he explains. “People are complex human beings. I enjoy intelligent conversation. Most of the time, I’m just listening to the Dead, working on a role. But I also drink. I enjoy a bit of chaos too.”

He adds, “But I’ve got these movies coming out that totally contradict your image of me. You don’t even know what I’m working on now.”

Even when it comes to partying in real life, the 29-year-old Teller likes to keep things low-key with pals.

“It’s all about the group. I like hosting. If you have the right people and the right music, it’s all good. In New York, it’s a lot easier to go out to the bars. In Los Angeles, it’s more club-driven and VIP-driven. I don’t care about that. I’d much rather be sitting around a fire, just talking,” he tells Playboy.

Teller may have gotten a bad rap from an unflattering interview Esquire in which a reporter described him as an “a**hole.”

“If somebody wants to do a hit piece, they’ll do a hit piece. I’ve had however many years of being myself, and I know the kind of person I am. I will defend the person I am through my actions. People can make of it what they want,” he says, referring to the interview. “But I think about so many actors I look up to and wonder what people were saying about them at the age of 27 or 28. I’m sure it’s not all flattering stuff.”

“There have been times, absolutely, when I’ll read negative stuff. Sometimes it’s by a critic or a journalist, and you can use that as fuel,” he continues. Teller, who mostly stays away from social media, does use his Twitter account to put his true self out there. “With Twitter, I like it because I can put things in my own words,” he says. “I can write something, and boom, it goes out to however many people. It’s important to have your own voice.”

Teller says that he’s gotten some great advice working alongside veteran actors like Nicole Kidman, Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons, and Aaron Eckhart who have given him some great advice. But the actor has some advice of his own: “Your reputation is everything. Don’t mess that up.”