SCAD Savannah Film Festival: In Conversation with Miles Teller

“Well, I think when somebody like Taylor reaches out and wants you to be a part of her

video, that’s an easy yes. When Tom asks you to be a part of Top Gun with him, that’s an easy

yes. So, I think throughout my career, I’ve just been really fortunate to work with some of the

best people in the business. And I would just tell everyone, SCAD students, you want to get as

many experiences as you can. That’s really what will help you. Just being on set, being around

people, and you really gotta fight for your career because no one’s going to fight harder than

you, and if you were to give up on yourself, other people are going to give up on you. So I would

just keep that fire going, and hopefully, you learn something from every project; I certainly have.

I’ve made some really great relationships work-wise, and in my personal life, so I feel really lucky

to have worked with some great people and share in that thing together. It’s hard work making a

movie, man, good or bad. You work just as hard. You usually work harder on bad movies ’cause

something’s not working. So, you know, it’s all good; it’s all part of the journey.”

After the Top Gun: Maverick screening, the audience was thrilled and full of excitement when the moderator announced the actor’s name as he came on stage. Teller started this conversation by honoring the students and volunteers that were the core of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and sharing how special and familial this festival is for him and his family.

The panel’s host, Clayton Davis, then continued the discussion by asking Teller about his experience working with “our pinnacle movie star,” Tom Cruise, and asked him to share what he learned from the actor. “I just think that Tom, the dynamics that he’s bringing to a movie, I think should be celebrated more. I truly do. Tom, he’s one of a kind; he leads from the front. He’s the first person there, the last one to leave… People forget how much he has contributed to the screen and, really, what he has given to audiences. He is a phenomenal actor, and it was just a real pleasure to be able to, no pun intended, be taken under his wing.”

Clayton then emphasized Miles Teller’s career and how he has worked with multiple big stars. He mentioned that Teller has been around “for what feels like 10 seconds but also feels like we’ve never not had Teller as a part of the cinema.” He mentioned that it is evident that Teller has something to say in this expression of art and inquired about what made him fall in love with movies.

“For me, it started in theater in high school. And the song has remained the same in that regard have come to watch more and more movies because I want to be educated, I want to know when people are referencing things, and I really do love it. But for me, it’s just really always been an internal thing. And I think I’ve been very fortunate to get some movies that allow me to get something out… For every day in my career where I’ve been able to push myself, that’s because the directors have taken a chance on me. I’m now building up more and more of a resume, and it kind of helps them maybe pull the trigger on that. So much of that stuff, I never showed that I could do that before, and I would never have gotten that opportunity if some director didn’t say: Hey, I want you to do this…Sometimes it’s tough because you rely on someone else to kind of give you an opportunity. If you like stuff, I would say definitely do that. A lot of people’s success stories have been because they weren’t getting it from other people; they had to create it themselves. But it’s just all startups and honestly, believe me, if you have something to say, that will be the baseline. I felt like I had something to say, and every opportunity I got, I tried to make the most of it.”

Throughout the rest of the conversation, the topic focused on Teller’s preparation to play the role of Bradley Bradshaw (Rooster) in Top Gun and the behind-the-scenes of the film.

“First of all, Tom was incredibly attached to what we were doing because we started the same way one would get the pilot’s license. We started going up in a Cessna, which is kind of a very basic airplane that you can go up in. Then we would hit a couple of 1000 feet. Then a couple of weeks later, flying in the Extra EA-300 doing aerobatics, pulling over the G-Forces. Then we’re flying these L-39s, with the patriots who are the civilian version of the Blue Angels… We also had to pass the Naval Aviator Open Water Survival Training Course that every pilot has to pass every four years to re-qualify for it. It’s all water training, which leads up to this thing called the Dunker. It’s basically if you were to be in a generated helicopter that started submerging in the water. They strapped you into a chair with four connections, blindfolded you, and slowly lowered this thing under the water. And then they slowly started to turn it upside down. So you’re holding your breath for around 30 seconds, blindfolded, strapped to a chair upside down, and you have to remain calm with those things.” In addition to the heavy training to face the film’s practical effects, the actors got a masterclass in action sequences.

After Teller explained the process of approaching all these practical effects, Clayton asked if he faced this process hesitantly, not believing it was achievable.  

“So much. Some of the actors were puking almost every time, and it was never something I was super comfortable with. You’re strapped to a rocket, and then you’re also making a film. So you got to make sure there’s continuity in the light, that the sun is in the right angle with my imaginary wingman. It is so incredibly complicated… The crew didn’t think our cinematographer could get one camera in the cockpit, and then he got six.” With this section of the panel, we all realized how immensely challenging was the production of this film to the point that it was almost impossible. However, with Tom Cruise as part of the team, nothing is impossible in his hands. 

Later on, the host asked Teller how the process was to get the role of Bradshaw. Did he audition, or did he receive a call? The big question is, how did he feel about it? Teller went on and spoke about the process. He auditioned for the part, but most of all, he emphasized that, at first, he was hesitant about taking this role because he enjoyed his level of fame, where not everyone knew about him. Teller was aware that by being in Top Gun, everything would change. However, he is glad he took the role, and fans definitely agreed.

To wrap up the conversation, Clayton asked Teller to share a piece of advice with SCAD students. If I could go back tomorrow and start it all over again, my freshman year at NYU, I would. I know that for you guys graduating, it can be a lot of nerves. You’re graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. It’s tough to plug that into the economy in various different ways. But I would just say to really enjoy that part of it. I loved when I was auditioning all the time, and I didn’t know what was coming next; it was really exciting for me. And you’re getting to do it in small groups with like-minded people of the same age. It’s just a special time. You got a great school to do it; it’s a great program with wonderful teachers. So I want to say to really enjoy that because once it becomes a job, it’s a job, and it’s still very exciting, but there’s something about the beginning of the journey that you’ll never get back. So I would just say to really, really soak that in as much as you can.

Miles Teller’s conversation at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival was a very enriching and admirable experience. We are excited to see more of Miles Teller in future films. But, for now, if you are interested, you can rent one of his most recent films, “Top Gun: Maverick,” on multiple online platforms such as Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and more! It is a movie that everyone should watch.