Three Oscars, three BAFTAs, a Critics Choice Award, and a 94 percent Rotten Tomatoes score – yet for his role in this critically-acclaimed film, Miles Teller only received $8,000.
Teller is now a well-known figure in Hollywood, thanks to his roles in Top Gun: Maverick, the Divergent series, and the 2016 crime-drama War Dogs. Given his credentials, one would expect him to be earning substantial sums for his performances.
However, in 2014, Teller accepted a role that paid him the equivalent of merely a few months’ salary—significantly less compared to the millions other movie stars typically earn.
He starred opposite JK Simmons in a drama, portraying a young music student determined to win over his teacher with his drumming expertise.
While the premise might seem straightforward, the film delivers a gripping experience, keeping viewers on edge and needing time to absorb what they just saw.
Teller’s preparation for the role was equally intense. As he mentioned to The Times in 2016: “I was given just two weeks to learn how to be a jazz drummer. Two weeks to learn something like that? And to be an aficionado at it, and not just someone who’s learning on screen?”
Although he could have benefited from more practice time, the film, titled Whiplash, received widespread acclaim from both audiences and critics. One critic even described it as a ‘monster’ of a film.
On Twitter, fans praised Whiplash as ‘spectacular’ and ‘honestly one of the best films I’ve ever seen’.
Despite the considerable effort required for the role and the film’s success, Teller revealed to The Times that he only earned $8,000 after taxes.
In a 2015 interview, he explained: “When I did Whiplash, after taxes, I made like $8,000. So for me to be able to make a living, and to pay off my student loans and to do things you want to do, you gotta make studio films.”
Teller took his own advice in the years that followed, starring in the highly-anticipated Top Gun sequel—a film for which he reportedly earned millions.
Looking forward, he is set to take on new projects, including the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, where he will portray attorney John Branca, who supported Jackson’s transition from a boy band singer to the King of Pop.