Miles Teller opens up about starring in James Gray’s Cannes-acclaimed drama “Paper Tiger,” reflecting on losing his Palisades home to a fire before filming, shaking off early-career pigeonholes, and confronting brutal family dynamics opposite Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.
- Neon was due to release “Paper Tiger” in theaters on Friday, November 6.
- Teller stars as Queens engineer Irwin Pearl alongside Adam Driver as his older brother Gary and Scarlett Johansson as his wife Hester.
- The actor revealed that he and his wife Keleigh Sperry lost their Palisades home in a fire just before he met with James Gray for the project.
Miles Teller Discusses Paper Tiger Premiere
Sitting down at the Carlton Hotel during the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Miles Teller discussed watching the world premiere of James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” for the first time. IndieWire reported that the film wowed audiences at its world premiere, though it did not land a Cannes prize before heading to fall festivals and awards contention.
The film casts Teller as Irwin Pearl, a Queens engineer and family man whose life unravels after his older brother Gary, played by Adam Driver, offers a risky route to business success. In an unscheduled night reconnaissance, Irwin blunders into the Russian mafia.
“When I met James for this movie, our house had just burned down.” “And I had just lost my grandfather,” Teller told IndieWire, referencing the Palisades Fire.
“We were renting a place in Santa Barbara, and then I got the call saying James wanted to meet me for this.” “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.”
Shedding Studio Pigeonholes
Reflecting on his trajectory from youthful breakout roles in “Rabbit Hole,” “Whiplash,” and “The Spectacular Now” to playing mature father figures, Teller addressed how actors get typecast by the industry. He recalled early hurdles when casting directors dismissed his comedy auditions after his dramatic debut, only to question his dramatic chops later after he took on comedic or studio fare like “Footloose,” “Divergent,” and “The Fantastic Four.”
“Every actor is going to get to a place where you know it’s tough because you do something that has some success to it, and then people want you keep doing that same thing, whether that’s from the studio side or you keep getting scripts that are that same kind of thing,” Teller told IndieWire.
Confronting Family Dynamics on Set
In “Paper Tiger,” a tense confrontation between Teller and Driver showcases a visceral sibling dynamic built on a lifetime of unexpressed grievances. Teller said that his character’s facial twitch during their fierce argument stemmed from the uniquely painful sting of family conflict.
“At least in my own life, your family can get to you in a way that nobody else can,” Teller told IndieWire. “Those feelings are so deeply rooted and established from childhood, so I guess in that moment, and neither one is fully aware of the ramifications of the Russians, this deal going bad, and how it’s affecting that person in their life.”
Gray based the narrative on his own father’s deepest regret—bringing business danger into the family home and making loved ones collateral damage for ambition. Teller drew on memories of his own father, a project controls manager who worked in nuclear energy, and his grandfather, a Marine and sweet-natured family man, to ground Irwin’s dependable, competent working-class decency.
“The actors, the directors, the crew, the producers, you can’t hide who you are when you’re on set,” he told IndieWire.
