Mumbai, May 19 (IANS) Hollywood actor Miles Teller has opened up on what shaped his performance in ‘Paper Tiger’. The actor shared that losing his home in last year’s Los Angeles wildfires fuelled his performance.

The 39-year-old actor features in James Gray’s crime drama about two brothers who find themselves and their families under threat from the Russian mafia and revealed that the emotions he and his wife Keleigh Sperry felt after losing their home in the January 2025 Palisades Fire, as well as the passing of his grandfather, were channelled into the part, reports ‘Female First UK’.

Miles told IndieWire, “When I met James for this movie, our house had just burned down. And I had just lost my grandfather. We were renting a place in Santa Barbara, and then I got the call saying James wanted to meet me for this”.

He further mentioned, “That infused the story and performance with a lot of love as well, because of that feeling of home that Keleigh and I had lost. I’d lost it with my grandfather, but then also just the physical place where you can have people come gather, where you have memories attached. We did not have that, so that probably came through”.

The actor explained that his face was shaking with anger during a specific scene with co-star Adam Driver. The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ actor said, “I saw that. Yeah, there was a twitch going on there. At least in my own life, your family can get to you in a way that nobody else can. Those feelings are so deeply rooted and established from childhood, so I guess in that moment, and neither one is fully aware of the ramifications of the Russians, this deal going bad, and how it’s affecting that person in their life. In that particular scene you’re letting out. It’s not just about what they’re talking about right there”.

He further mentioned, “It’s an entire lifetime of misgivings, he’s going to let him have it. When that’s happened to me in my personal life, you feel so bad afterwards. It’s a horrible feeling when you’re not talking to a sibling or your parents, and often it’s hard to make amends”.

As per ‘Female Firs UK’, the actor shared that he signed up to star in ‘Paper Tiger’, which also features Scarlett Johansson and has been nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, as he wanted to play a character who reflects the current stage of life that he is at.

The Gorge star said, “If you want to have a long career, the audience, hopefully, that you attract in your early 20s, as they get older, and they start having kids or not having kids, but just getting more life experience under the belt, you want to reflect that in your choices as well”.

“And James makes movies for adults, he deals with characters. I’ve loved every one of his films, and I’ve always felt like he gets incredible performances, so I was excited to play a man at this point”, he added.

–IANS

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