Miles Teller Loses Home, Finds His Grown-Up Role in James Gray's 'Paper Tiger'

Miles Teller lost his home in the Palisades Fire weeks before meeting director James Gray for "Paper Tiger," the Cannes drama Neon releases in theaters on November 6. The actor revealed the loss in a Cannes interview with IndieWire's Anne Thompson, conducted at the Carlton Hotel after the film's world premiere.

Gray's film earned raves at the festival but left without a prize. It will screen at fall festivals and enter awards contention.

What role does Teller play?

Teller stars as Irwin Pearl, a Queens engineer and family man married to Hester, played by Scarlett Johansson. Adam Driver plays Gary, Irwin's older brother and a former cop. Irwin's slow-building business takes a dangerous shortcut when he partners with Gary and crosses the Russian mafia during a night reconnaissance.

The part marks a career shift. Teller, now 38, began at 22 with 2010's "Rabbit Hole," playing a teenager in a Queens house. "Now I'm playing the part of the parent," he said.

How did personal loss shape the performance?

Teller's house had just burned down, and his grandfather had just died, when Gray called. He and his wife, Keleigh Sperry, were renting in Santa Barbara at the time.

"That infused this story and performance with a lot of love as well, because of that feeling of home that Keleigh and I had lost," Teller said. "We did not have that, so that probably came through."

Gray based the film on his own father's experience. According to Teller, the father's biggest regret — carried to his deathbed — was bringing danger into his home, where his family became "collateral damage for his business ambition."

What about the Adam Driver fight scene?

One confrontation between the brothers left Teller's face shaking on screen. "There was a twitch going on there," he said.

"Your family can get to you in a way that nobody else can," Teller said. "It's an entire lifetime of misgivings — he's going to let him have it." He added that such ruptures leave you feeling "so bad afterwards," and amends are hard to make.

Has Teller corrected course?

Teller defends his early choices, noting fewer than 10 percent of SAG members pay their bills from acting alone. His cohort included Michael B. Jordan, Robert Pattinson, Shia LaBeouf and Zac Efron.

He also addressed a mishandled 2015 profile. "It felt like such a violation of what actually transpired," he said, explaining why he stopped doing print interviews. "It's unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn't sell."

What comes next?

Teller plays lawyer John Branca in "Michael," the Michael Jackson biopic that has grossed $707 million worldwide. Producers reworked that film's third act, and a sequel is in development. "I know they're working on it," Teller said. "I haven't had any direct discussions."

With "Paper Tiger," Teller closes the loop on a two-decade arc — from the wide-eyed Queens teenager of "Rabbit Hole" to the father in the same borough, on his own terms.