Miles Teller Interview: Bleed For This

Fresh off his extraordinary performance in Whiplash, Miles Teller takes on the true inspirational story of boxer Vincent Pazienza in, Bleed For This. 

Miles Teller stars as Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Pazienza, a local Providence boxer who shot to stardom after winning 2 world title fights. After a near-fatal car accident leaves Vinny with a severed spine, doctors tell him he may never walk again. With the help of renowned trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart), Vinny becomes a legend when he not only walks again, but miraculously returns to the ring to reclaim his title belt only a year after the accident.

Teller, who recently turned 29 put his heart and soul into playing Vinny. Not only did he have to psychologically prepare for what was a head, but the physical training was gruelling. Teller turned from 188 pounds and 18% body fat to 168 pounds and 6% body fat in the initial stages of the movie showing his sculptured abs and the most unbelievable part is that he did it in 6 weeks.  The actor hired a trainer who also recommended that he use some supplements that helped trim the fat while he was building muscle. 

In Bleed for This, Teller gives a tour-de-force performance. The actor is in almost every scene playing real-life boxer Vinny Pazienza, a flamboyant fighter who pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in sports history as he recovered from a near-fatal car crash. It's an especially interesting choice for Teller, since he also survived a near-fatal car crash when he was 20.

During our recent interview in Los Angeles, I asked Teller if he cringed at all when he watched the car crash scene for the first time.  "I actually didn't," he said. "My parents cringed, my girlfriend cringed, and my buddies cringed. For me, when the car accident happened I blacked out and I remember very little about it so the actual event is more traumatic for the people around you and then you're left with picking up the pieces."

CLICK below to watch my interviews with stars Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal and director Ben Younger. 

Bleed for This is a truly inspirational story.  Check it out when it opens in theatres across the country on November 18th.