‘Fantastic Four’: Miles Teller Talks Sharing The Film

Miles Teller had a hot 2014 thanks largely to his performance in Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, which just snagged a Golden Globe for costar J.K. Simmons’ performance. This year, Teller steps out of the arthouse and into the mainstream with Josh Trank’s The Fantastic Four reboot, a picture that relies on the talents of its ensemble more than anything else.

Teller has involved himself with tentpoles before, but primarily as a background player; the Divergent series, to be exact. He’s one of the leads in The Fantastic Four, of course, but the nature of the source material demands that he must hold the spotlight alongside his co-stars, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. There’s no “I” in team, after all, which is truer of The Fantastic Four than most comic book adaptations.

And that suits the gregarious Teller just fine. As it turns out, it’s the reason he chose to sign up on Trank’s film in the first place. The folks over at Digital Spy caught up recently with Teller, who explained why The Fantastic Four had more appeal to him than a standalone superhero production. Working with Trank is part of it; the rest has to do with sharing the screen with his fellow cast members. To quote the actor:

“I don’t know if I would be into it, but the fact that it’s a movie that I knew we’d share… the superhero world, that’s a whole different animal. That’s a pretty serious commitment.”

Frankly, this makes a lot of sense speaking to both Teller’s career trajectory and The Fantastic Four‘s roots. Teller has a real gift for vibing with actors, whether in a comedy like That Awkward Moment (which also features Jordan) or indie dramas like The Spectacular Now; it’s easy to see why he’d be attracted to a blockbuster that rests on the chemistry of its troupe. He’s a natural at group dynamics; and based on that alone, he should be a great fit in The Fantastic Four‘s milieu.

The opportunity to experience a comic book universe in tandem with three young talents on the rise sounds right up his alley. But what makes his reasoning so wonderful here is that, at its heart, The Fantastic Four is about teamwork; in line with that theme, Teller’s logic happens to be very team-oriented.

The Fantastic Four isn’t about one person saving the day, but rather individuals coming together. It’s appropriate, then, that Teller’s reasoning here has to do with sharing the experience.

The Fantastic Four arrives in theaters on August 7th, 2015.

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