Miles Teller on Tom Cruise Talking About Top Gun 3, MLB All-Star Game in Philly & Paper Tiger

Miles Teller on Philly Sports, Paper Tiger, and Top Gun

Miles Teller joins Jimmy Kimmel to discuss Philadelphia sports, his new movie Paper Tiger, and the possibility of another Top Gun.

Philly Sports and Family Stories

Teller says he’s a Philadelphia sports fan—except for basketball, since his dad raised him as a Lakers fan. He recalls narrating a dramatic tribute to baseball at Philadelphia’s MLB All-Star Game. After a single rehearsal, he nervously fidgeted with a baseball. Teller says he was just feeling the seams, but the camera crop made it look odd.

Kimmel notes that Philly fans can be unforgiving. Teller says he’d never throw a battery, though Eagles fans are impossible to miss. The two also joke about Teller’s father being mistaken for Bruce Springsteen on the stadium jumbotron. Teller thinks his dad looks more like Tom Hanks or Michael Keaton.

The conversation turns to Teller’s Florida upbringing and his hometown’s claim to fame as the “manatee capital of the world.” Kimmel describes manatees as looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and says he feels comfortable around any animal that won’t eat him.

Paper Tiger

Teller’s film Paper Tiger is a family crime drama set in Queens in 1986, drawing on director James Gray’s experiences and family history. A clip features Teller and Scarlett Johansson as parents.

Teller jokes that playing a father to teenage boys felt strange. On the first day, when one young actor swore, Teller wanted to ask the director if he could discipline the kid playing his son. He also laughs about how often actors are trusted with newborns in movies, joking that twins let productions “rotate those suckers out.”

Top Gun 3

Kimmel asks about Tom Cruise’s reported plans for Top Gun 3. Teller hasn’t heard much but says everyone is excited. He describes Cruise as a generous mentor who’s always available—sometimes so enthusiastic that Teller has had to hang up on him.

Kimmel pitches skipping straight to Top Gun 4, and Teller promises to take the idea “straight to the top.”

Closing Jokes

The interview closes with more Philly teasing, including Kimmel bringing up fans throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. Teller defends the crowd: “We were losing.”

Personalities: Jimmy Kimmel and Miles Teller. Scarlett Johansson appears in a Paper Tiger clip; Tom Cruise is discussed.