Back by unpopular demand! Yes, we’re still talking about Miles Teller, who is still doing interviews to promote Whiplash. It’s awfully nice of him, considering the more attention he brings to the film, the better JK Simmons’ chances at an Oscar nomination. HA! When I first started paying attention to Miles – just a few months ago, honestly – he reminded me physically of Shia LaBeouf. When I heard him speak, the Shia resemblance grew even stronger. But in previous interview, Miles first played up then threw shade on the comparison that he was somehow a young John Cusack-type (Miles wishes). Of course, Miles can barely open his mouth without offending people, whether he’s dismissing JK Simmons’ life long work as a character actor or telling people that he just did Divergent for the money. So it’s interesting to me that Miles is finally acknowledging that he does give a lot of people Shia LaBeouf vibes. But of course Miles has to throw some shade on that too:

Miles on Elvis: “We do certain things similarly.”

His comments about doing ‘Divergent’ for ‘business reasons’: “If people really want to do the research, for “Whiplash,” you make $7,000. For “Spectacular Now,” you make $7,000. For “Rabbit Hole,” you make $4,000. Studios don’t make dramas. So if an actor wants to satisfy themselves, they’re really not going to make any kind of money most of the time. That’s why there’s an allure of the studio films because you can drive a car if you do some. But I would never do a movie just for a paycheck. If Shailene [Woodley] was not in the movie, if Kate Winslet was not in that movie, if Neil Burger wasn’t directing it, I wouldn’t. Because I’ve been offered a lot of money to be in bad scripts.”

He used to want a career like Shia LaBeouf: “People tell me I’ve had a quick ascension into this business. But for me, when I was in college, I was looking at Shia LaBeouf. … I used to say that I needed to get a “Disturbia” and then I’ll be in the biz and I’ll kind of be “the other Shia” — the next guy. But I’m glad it went the way it’s went. I’ve been able to work on some studio films and some really good independent films.

Does he feel like he’s broken through? “Well, almost. At the end of the day, I just feel like I want to be a step ahead of … not the critics, the perception. I have a pretty wide taste. I’m doing a musical with Damien, his next film. It’s literally a song-and-dance, Gene Kelly kind of thing. And also, I want to shoot somebody. That’s the only thing I haven’t done, that kind of an action thing. Right off the bat, I’m trying to show I can do all this stuff.”

[From The Salt Lake Tribune]

This is not the kind of direct shade-throwing Miles did with John Cusack, where Miles blatantly said he didn’t want Cusack’s career. It feels more like Miles used to wish he had Shia’s career but nowadays, Miles is happy he took his own career path. But seriously, even with all of Shia’s craziness and everything, that kid’s still had a good career. He’s helmed a major franchise (Transformers), he’s done solid dramatic work (Lawless, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps), he’s been the lead in several non-franchise films that have made good money (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) and he’s done weird artsy crap. Shia’s currently starring in Fury, which might be an Oscar contender. So… if we have Shia, why would we need Miles again? Oh, and do you realize that Shia is only one year older than Miles? Ha.

Photos courtesy of PR Photos.