Miles Teller may look like he’s living the Hollywood dream now, starring in Whiplash and Top Gun: Maverick, but his road to the spotlight was anything but smooth. Teller recently opened up that his biggest hurdle was something he couldn’t control: the scars on his face from a near-fatal car crash at 20.
Miles Teller opens up about his early career obstacles
In a recent interview, Miles Teller opened up about the car accident that flipped his world upside down, leaving noticeable scars on his face and neck. He said that when he first started auditioning, casting directors constantly questioned whether the roles made sense with the marks he had.
The 38-year-old said, “If you look at some of my early work, the scars on my face were really bad.” He added, “Almost every casting director would tell my agent, ‘Miles is a really good actor, but it doesn’t make sense for this character to have scars.'” (via Collider)
That hesitation made landing roles very challenging. Even when he dominated auditions, he was at the mercy of Hollywood’s beauty filter. Teller called the industry “a very vain business,” admitting the climb felt impossible over something he couldn’t change.
The scars that told his survival story became a roadblock to casting doors because everyone was looking for perfect faces. However, things changed when director John Cameron Mitchell picked Teller for the 2010 drama Rabbit Hole. Mitchell wasn’t bothered by the actor’s scars and actually loved them.
Teller finally heard the words he’d been waiting for: “I love your scars. It’s a mystery, and we don’t need to explain it.” Rabbit Hole opened the door to everything that followed: The Spectacular Now, Whiplash, and eventually worldwide fame with Top Gun: Maverick.
Miles Teller’s turn in Whiplash cemented his reputation, even if the movie didn’t become a hit instantly. “It really got a second life and third life,” he said of the Oscar-nominated hit.
