“Divergent” star Miles Teller has clarified his perceived “diss” about the franchise from a W magazine interview.
Teller told the magazine he felt “dead inside” when he first read “Whiplash,” a film about a talented musician whose teacher pushes him to the edge of greatness. He learned about the role while filming “Divergent," a film he reportedly did to grow in his career.
“I didn’t have an interesting part, and I’d taken the film for business reasons: It was the first movie I’d done that was going to have an international audience,” Teller, who played Peter in the film, told W magazine. “I called my agent and said, ‘This sucks.’ He told me about 'Whiplash.'”
The actor has since released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter to clarify his feelings about working on “Divergent.”
"Accustomed to being more involved in the process of filmmaking, Miles regrets those words. He does value his relationship with Lionsgate and his participation in the franchise,” Teller’s rep said.
Teller also spoke to The Times to further clarify what he meant by the “Divergent” quotes. According to Teller, the “business” parts he spoke about referred to working on an international release.
“Those were the ‘business reasons’ which every actor weighs; it's not just the size of the part,” Teller said.
"And if I said 'dead inside,'" he added, "I meant just burnt out and fatigued from doing my first big-budget lengthy shoot and four months was a long time and I just wanted to relax afterwards."
Teller also took to his official Twitter account to reiterate he is grateful to be a part of the “Divergent” franchise.
“I've never done a movie for 'business' reasons. I'm proud to be a part of Divergent franchise and love all of Peter's Princesses,” Teller wrote.
The second installment of the “Divergent” franchise, “Insurgent," will be released to theaters on March 20, 2015.
