Miles Teller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miles Teller
Teller at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1987-02-20) February 20, 1987 (age 39) Downingtown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	New York University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2004–present
Spouse(s)	Keleigh Sperry ​ (m. 2019)​

Miles Teller (born February 20, 1987) is a talented American actor. He first appeared in movies with the drama Rabbit Hole in 2010. Many people started to notice him for his roles in the movie The Spectacular Now (2013) and the popular Divergent film series (2014–2016).

His big break came in the intense drama Whiplash (2014). Critics praised his performance, and he was even nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. Miles Teller also played Mister Fantastic in the superhero movie Fantastic Four (2015). He starred in the true-story film War Dogs (2016). More recently, he became very well-known for his role in the action-packed movie Top Gun: Maverick (2022). On TV, he appeared in the crime drama Too Old to Die Young (2019) and the miniseries The Offer (2022). He also starred in and co-produced the film The Gorge (2025), which earned him an Emmy nomination as a producer.

Early Life and Education

Teller playing drums at his former high school

Miles Teller was born in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, on February 20, 1987. His mom, Merry, works as a real estate agent. His dad, Michael, is an engineer at a power plant. He has two older sisters named Erin and Dana. Miles comes from a diverse family background, including English, Irish, and African-American roots.

He lived in Pennsylvania and Delaware when he was young. When he was 12, his family moved to Citrus County, Florida. As a kid, Miles loved acting. He was even the president of his high school's drama club. He also played many musical instruments, like the alto saxophone, drums, piano, and guitar. Besides acting and music, he was a good baseball player and hoped to play professionally.

After high school in Lecanto, Florida, Miles went to the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He studied acting there and earned his degree in drama in 2009.

In 2007, Miles was in a serious car accident. He was a passenger in a car that crashed. He has some scars on his face from this event.

Miles Teller's Acting Career

Early Roles and Breakthrough Films

Miles Teller started his acting journey in many short films from 2004 to 2010. After college, he got his first big movie role in Rabbit Hole (2010). Famous actress Nicole Kidman personally chose him for the part. He had acted in the high school musical Footloose and later starred in the 2011 movie remake. In 2013, he appeared in 21 & Over and The Spectacular Now with Shailene Woodley.

Teller at the film premiere of Divergent in 2014

A very important role for Miles was in the 2014 film Whiplash. He played a drummer who worked with a very demanding jazz teacher. His performance earned him several award nominations, including the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Miles also became well-known for playing Peter Hayes in the Divergent series. This included Divergent (2014), Insurgent (2015), and Allegiant (2016). He played Mister Fantastic in the superhero movie Fantastic Four (2015). He also starred as David Packouz in War Dogs (2016), a film about two young men who get involved in selling military equipment. For his role as boxer Vinny Paz in Bleed for This (2016), he trained for five months to get in shape.

In 2017, Miles starred in two more true-story films: Only the Brave and Thank You For Your Service. In 2020, he was announced for a political comedy called The Fence. He also played producer Albert S. Ruddy in The Offer, a miniseries about making The Godfather. This show aired in 2022. In 2021, he appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "I Bet You Think About Me".

Starring in Blockbusters and TV Shows

In 2022, Miles Teller starred in the huge hit movie Top Gun: Maverick. He was unsure about taking the role at first. However, Tom Cruise convinced him that he was perfect for the part. Miles even suggested an idea for a follow-up film centered on his character, which he called Top Gun: Rooster. He has had ongoing talks about a sequel with Tom Cruise. Miles said the experience has been "awesome" because of all the support.

Miles hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in 2022. In 2023, he appeared in a Bud Light commercial during the Super Bowl LVII with his wife and their dog. They were shown dancing to music while waiting on the phone.

Personal Life and Other Ventures

Teller in 2014

Miles Teller got engaged to model Keleigh Sperry on August 20, 2017, in South Africa. They married on September 1, 2019, in Maui, Hawaii. In 2025, their home was sadly destroyed by the Palisades Fire. Later that year, Miles visited his old high school, Lecanto High School, to talk to students. The school honored him by naming their theater the "Miles Teller Theatre."

Beyond acting, Miles has also become a businessman. He was an early investor in a company called The Finnish Long Drink. In April 2026, the company was bought for a large sum of money. Miles has said that even with his business success, he plans to keep acting.

Miles Teller's Filmography

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Rabbit Hole	Jason
2011	Footloose	Willard Hewitt
2012	Project X	Himself	credited as "Miles"
2013	The Spectacular Now	Sutter Keely
	21 & Over	Miller
2014	Whiplash	Andrew Neiman
	That Awkward Moment	Daniel
	Divergent	Peter Hayes
	Two Night Stand	Alec
2015	The Divergent Series: Insurgent	Peter Hayes
	Fantastic Four	Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
2016	The Divergent Series: Allegiant	Peter Hayes
	Get a Job	Will Davis
	War Dogs	David Packouz
	Bleed for This	Vinny Pazienza
2017	Only the Brave	Brendan "Donut" McDonough
	Thank You for Your Service	Adam Schumann
2022	Top Gun: Maverick	Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw
	Spiderhead	Jeff
2025	The Gorge	Levi	Also executive producer
	Eternity	Larry Cutler	Also executive producer
2026	Michael	John Branca
	Paper Tiger	Irwin Pearl
TBA	The Ark and the Aardvark	Gilbert (voice)	In production

Television Shows

Music Videos

Awards and Recognitions

See also

In Spanish: Miles Teller para niños