Miles Teller

Early life

Teller was born in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, of parents Merry and Mike. He has two older sisters, Erin and Dana. His paternal grandfather was of Russian Jewish descent, and his ancestry also includes English and Irish. The family moved to Citrus County, Florida, when Teller was 12. He also lived in Pennsylvania and Delaware. At Lecanto High School, he played the alto saxophone in a rock band, was a drummer for a church-youth group band, and was president of the drama club. He can also play piano and guitar and was on the baseball team, hoping to turn professional. Aside from high school, Teller worked as a server at a restaurant called Crackers. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he studied method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

In 2007, he was a passenger in a car that lost control at 80 mph and flipped eight times, he was ejected out the window. He has multiple visible scars on his face from the accident.

Career

Before making his feature film debut Teller appeared in many short films. After graduating from Tisch School of the Arts in 2009, he made his debut in 2010's Rabbit Hole, after Nicole Kidman handpicked him for the role. Teller appeared in the stage musical Footloose in high school. Years later, he was cast in the film remake of Footloose (2011) starring Kenny Wormald, in which he played the same character as in his high school musical.

In 2013, he starred in 21 & Over, written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. That year, he began reaching critical success after starring in the James Ponsoldt film, The Spectacular Now, for which he won the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, with co-star Shailene Woodley.

In 2014, he co-starred in the comedy That Awkward Moment, alongside Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan, and starred as a drummer in the well-reviewed drama Whiplash (2014), which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in October 2014. He was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actor, the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture, and the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Teller received further recognition when he portrayed Peter Hayes in the commercially successful Divergent (2014), followed by the film's sequels Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). He also starred as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in the film Fantastic Four (2015).

Teller played real life arms dealer David Packouz, opposite Jonah Hill, in the Todd Phillips-directed film War Dogs (2016), and headlined the biopic Bleed for This (2016), playing boxer Vinny Paz. In January 2014, Teller was cast to portray Dan Aykroyd in Steven Conrad's untitled John Belushi biopic.

Personal life

Teller is a loyal fan of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Since 2013, he has been in a relationship with model Keleigh Sperry. They got engaged on August 20, 2017 while on an African safari.