“Top Gun: Maverick” star Miles Teller explained this week why he avoided profile interviews for more than a decade. The 39-year-old star said it all traces back to writer Anna Peele from Esquire calling him a “d*ck” in her piece. “That was so mishandled,” Teller told IndieWire in Cannes as he promoted his upcoming film, “Paper Tiger.” “The reason why I have not done profiles is because I said, ‘Wow, if I’m not doing this interview on camera, this person can misquote things or put things out of order or say things that didn’t happen.’ It felt like such a violation of what actually transpired.” The 2015 Esquire profile in question opened with the line, “You’re sitting across from Miles Teller at the Luminary restaurant in Atlanta and trying to figure out if he’s a d*ck.” Later, Peele concludes, “yeah, he is kind of a d*ck,” claiming Teller compared a highball glass to his genitals and generally acted arrogant during their conversation.  Teller said the whole experience was enough to turn him off to profile interviews completely.  “I told my team, ‘Guys, I don’t think I’m doing this again, because I’m reading this and this doesn’t sound like me to me. This is not life, so why would I ever want to be a part of something where they can just put that in?’” he continued. “So it’s unfortunate that being a good person, that doesn’t sell. People want to click on the negativity. If you go to bed and put your head on your pillow and how you treat people truly, that’s what matters. That [2015] interview was like 12 years ago.” Teller said that in the end, “the actors, the directors, the crew and the producers” know the real him because, “you can’t hide who you are when you’re on set.” The “Whiplash” star also reacted to the Esquire piece right after it came out, posting on social media, “Esquire couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t think there’s anything cool or entertaining about being a d*ck or an a**hole. Very misrepresenting.” One year later, he addressed the incident during a conversation with The Guardian in 2016. “Oh, I felt frickin’ helpless, I felt extremely misrepresented, I felt a little angry,” he told the outlet. “For the average person, they are reading this article, they haven’t met you, they’re like, ‘Oh Miles is an a**hole. You didn’t hear it? You didn’t read that Esquire? Yeah, she said he was an a**hole – he must be!’ “I’d say that you get a little more guarded but I’m actually not,” Teller added. “Certain times I’ll choose my words very carefully and maybe come off a little more boring. But I also think that’s why people – certain people – do relate to me: because there is no agenda, honestly. I was raised middle-class in a small town. I have all my same friends from high school. I’m close with my family. I’m dating a normal girl. So I want to feel people think I’m a man of the people. Because I feel that way.”