Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Website Design
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    Daily Actor
    Home » Actors on Acting » Miles Teller Bombed His First Audition for ‘The Spectacular Now’
    Actors on Acting

    Miles Teller Bombed His First Audition for ‘The Spectacular Now’

    Erin KonradBy Erin KonradFebruary 6, 2013Updated:September 16, 2018No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Miles Teller is the first one to admit that he’s not sure how he landed the much-coveted role in the indie The Spectacular Now.  The actor, who stars alongside Brie Larson and Shailene Woodley, recalls completely bombing his first audition.

    “It was just not good.  It was right after Footloose got done, like the day after it wrapped,” Teller recounted to Interview.  “I tried to play a character, as opposed to make it more mine.  It wasn’t very good, it wasn’t honest, and I was acting.  I asked for a second one, and the second one went a little better but they were still like, ‘We’ve moved on with somebody else.’

    “There were a lot of other actors attached to this before I was.  And then James [Ponsoldt, the director] got involved, and I never had to audition, we just met for beers and by the end of that, he was like, ‘You’re my guy and I’m gonna try and convince everybody else, hopefully we have this done in about a week.’  That’s how I came on board.  Maybe it’s good I didn’t have to audition for James, because I probably would have sucked.”

    Teller was interested in working with Ponsoldt, best known for directing last year’s indie Smashed, but didn’t immediately approach him when he found out he was attached to the project.  “I think at that point they had seen Footloose or Rabbit Hole, and they had maybe compiled a list of actors they wanted or had an eye for, but really, Nicholas Hoult was supposed to be in this movie, and he dropped out to do Mad Max.  It opened up, James met with me.”

    Teller admits that part of the reason his initial audition went so poorly is because he was trying to transition out of playing line dancer Willard in Footloose.

    “[Footloose] was a three month thing.  I was playing a redneck, but with a studio system, so a little bigger. I didn’t have the time to prepare for it, so it was not the best time,” Teller said.  “But a lot of times in this business, I’ve gotten a call and they’ll say, ‘Here’s the pages, can you be there in three hours?’  And you just say, ‘Whatever, screw it,’ and you do it, and you feel better that you at least tried.

    “I would feel bad if I let my own fear of failure get in the way of putting something out there.  You’ve got to throw something out there.  Maybe at least it’ll get you a callback, and you take more time with the callback, and by the time of the director’s session, you feel like you’re in a pretty good place.”

    The Spectacular Now recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

    Related

    Previous ArticleBreaking Bad’s Dean Norris wanted to be written off the show’s last season
    Next Article Screenplay: Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’

    Related Posts

    Jonathan Banks in Better Call Saul

    Jonathan Banks on Playing Mike in ‘Better Call Saul’: “I borrowed from people that I saw”

    November 23, 2022
    Actor Tom Hanks

    Tom Hanks on His Career and the Valuable Lessons He Learned Along the Way

    October 4, 2022
    Actor John C Reilly

    John C. Reilly on Method Acting, Daniel Day-Lewis and John Malkovich

    September 23, 2022
    Add A Comment

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, Masterclass, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.