Miles Teller is revisiting Esquire’s 2015 cover story that framed him as a potential “d—ck,” saying the experience felt like a violation and is a big reason he hasn’t done another profile since.
Miles Teller didn’t forget the 2015 Esquire interview—he just decided he couldn’t live with how it played out.
The actor was on the cover of Esquire’s issue that year. and the profile pushed a provocative premise: whether he was a “d-ck.” The piece opened with a line set at the Luminary restaurant in Atlanta. portraying a writer sitting across from him while trying to determine if he was “a d-ck. ” before landing on a sharper punch: that he “gives you a hug” but then goes off to “contribute” while charming the world with his “dickishness.”.
At the time, Teller pushed back publicly. In August 2015, he tweeted: “@esquire couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t think there’s anything cool or entertaining about being a dick or an asshole. Very misrepresenting.”
Now, in a new interview, Teller is explaining what stuck with him about the article—and why it shaped his future decisions. Speaking to IndieWire, he said, “That was so mishandled.”
He added that he has not done profiles because of how the piece could be handled without his presence: “The reason why I have not done profiles is because I said. ‘Wow. if I’m not doing this interview on camera. this person can misquote things or put things out of order or say things that didn’t happen.’ It felt like such a violation of what actually transpired.”.
Teller described how he and his team reacted after reading it. “I told my team, ‘Guys, I don’t think I’m doing this again, because I’m reading this and this doesn’t sound like me to me. This is not life, so why would I ever want to be a part of something where they can just put that in?’” he said.
He also pointed to what he believes drives media attention. “So it’s unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn’t sell. People want to click on the negativity,” Teller continued. “If you go to bed and put your head on your pillow and how you treat people truly, that’s what matters.”
To him, the impact of that 2015 story still reads as a lasting misrepresentation. “That [2015] interview was like 12 years ago,” he added.
The conversation has a complicated tension at its core: in 2015. Esquire’s framing leaned into an insult-laced caricature. and Teller’s response was blunt—misrepresenting him. Years later. he says the problem wasn’t just the tone. but the way the account could drift away from what he actually said and what he recognized as his own voice.
Miles Teller Esquire 2015 interview Luminary restaurant Atlanta IndieWire celebrity news profiles misquote social media
He literally said it was mishandled so like… yeah stop doing profiles then? Weird Esquire thought that was okay.
I didn’t read past the headline but I saw “d—ck” and I’m like?? Media always twists stuff for clicks. Probably both parties are messy though.
Wait so the writer was in a restaurant asking if he was a dick and then that turned into a whole cover story? That feels like bullying disguised as journalism. But also he tweeted back in 2015 so I’m not surprised it still bothers him.
Esquire should’ve just stuck to facts instead of doing that whole “gives you a hug then contributes” thing whatever that means. Honestly though, I feel like actors say “misquoted” every time… like maybe he was acting exactly like that and now he’s mad it got noticed? Idk, just seems convenient.