Miles Teller Attached to Marc Webb Indie Drama ‘The Only Living Boy in New York’

Miles Teller, star of last month’s Whiplash, is currently in talks to take the lead role in The Only Living Boy in New York, an indie drama to be directed by 500 Days of Summer’s Marc Webb, reports Variety. Penned by Allan Loeb (21), the story will follow a young New Yorker who finds himself tangled in an affair with his overbearing father’s mistress. Webb has been focused on The Amazing Spiderman franchise for the past several years, which has put this film on hold. The addition of Teller could help smooth the transition back to a smaller indie drama.

Teller has taken on several big-budget films including the Divergent trilogy and the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, giving him “an opportunity to be in film[s] that would be seen internationally,” as he recently said in an interview. His heart seems to lie with indie films such as Webb’s new movie, however, where he unexpectedly sheds his party-boy demeanor – apparent in his 21 and Over, Project x, and That Awkward Moment performances – and taps into more serious, vulnerable acting. He has accomplished this in the past, in such films as Rabbit Hole opposite Nicole Kidman, The Spectacular Now with fellow Divergent actress Shailene Woodley, and in his latest drama Whiplash, alongside J.K. Simmons (Juno). Outside of his upcoming studio releases, Teller will be extending his range in two biopics: an Untitled John Belushi Project, and as boxer Vinny Pazienza in Bleed for This. He will also be working again with Whiplash director Damien Chazelle in La La Land, opposite Emma Watson (Noah).