Miles Teller acts.
Miles Alexander Teller ( born February 20 , 1987 ) is an American actor . Born in Downingtown , Pennsylvania and an alumnus of NYU 's Tisch School of Arts , he appeared in several short films and television movies before making his feature film debut in Rabbit Hole ( 2010 ) . The Spectacular Now is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James Ponsoldt , written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley . Whiplash is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle , depicting the relationship between an ambitious jazz student ( Miles Teller ) and an aggressive instructor ( J. K. Simmons ) .