Actors Miles Teller and Adam Driver play two brothers in James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” which was met with rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend. The “Top Gun: Maverick” star plays Irwin Pearl, a family man who is determined to set a good example for the two sons that he raises with his wife, played by Scarlett Johansson. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse when his older brother, Gary, an ex-cop (played by Driver), shows up and offers him a get rich quick scheme. Although Irwin is interested, he decides to investigate the matter himself and ends up in a confrontation with the Russian mafia that puts his whole family in jeopardy.
Without giving away any spoilers, one can expect that the two brothers’ relationship is tested after the Russian mafia gets involved. There is a fight scene between Teller and Driver where both actors are giving it their all. Teller’s face is actually quivering with rage in the scene, which has gotten the attention of many critics.
In an interview with IndieWire, the “Top Gun: Maverick” star was asked about that scene in particular. Teller admitted “there was a twitch going on there” before going into the family values that instigated his performance in the scene.
“At least in my own life, your family can get to you in a way that nobody else can,” Teller explained. “Those feelings are so deeply rooted and established from childhood, so I guess in that moment, and neither one is fully aware of the ramifications of the Russians, this deal going bad, and how it’s affecting that person in their life.”
Miles Teller Was ‘Letting It Out’ In That Scene
Teller explained that he drew on personal experiences in order to make that scene come to life.
“In that particular scene, you’re letting out. It’s not just about what they’re talking about right there,” he continued. “It’s an entire lifetime of misgivings — he’s going to let him have it.”
“When that’s happened to me in my personal life, you feel so bad afterwards,” he added. “It’s a horrible feeling when you’re not talking to a sibling or your parents, and often it’s hard to make amends.”
Although this is Teller’s first time acting, and fighting, with Driver, it isn’t the first for Scarlett Johansson, who starred opposite the actor in 2019’s “Marriage Story.” She is married to Teller’s character in “Paper Tiger,” but in “Marriage Story,” she and Driver play characters going through a tumultuous custody battle and vicious divorce.
Scarlett Johansson Wishes She Had More Scenes With Adam Driver In ‘Paper Tiger’
Unfortunately, “The Avengers” actress was unable to make it to the Cannes premiere due to a scheduling conflict. However, she did tell The Hollywood Reporter, “I would’ve loved to have had even more scenework with him,” adding, “I love working with him.”
In 2025, she told PEOPLE magazine that she had a “great” experience working with the “Star Wars” actor. “I love Adam as a person, and he is an absolutely extraordinary actor,” she said at the time. “If I could make every movie with Adam Driver, I would.”
Scarlett Johansson Weighs In On Their Fight Scenes
Their fight scenes in the movie were so brutal that the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually played audio clips from their arguments to scare away a pack of gray wolves that were reportedly “terrorizing” an Oregon farm’s livestock, as per The Wall Street Journal.
“We spent two entire days screaming at each other, brutally screaming and fighting for two full days,” she told As If, as reported by PEOPLE magazine.
“It was exhausting, but if I didn’t have as strong an actor as Adam to take all the stuff I was giving him, I would have been lost,” Johansson said at the time. “For me, working with other actors is a really important part of what I do … it’s everything.”
Adam Driver Jokes About Writing A Memoir After Lena Dunham’s Claims
In her 2026 memoir “Famesick,” Lena Dunham opened up on working with Driver in the HBO comedy “Girls.” In her tell-all book, she alleges that the actor screamed in her face and “hurled a chair at the wall” next to her after she forgot her lines.
“I remember doing a fight scene with Adam and how scary it was to meet someone so totally present with such absence,” Dunham wrote. “Late one night, as we practiced lines in my trailer, I found that mine were suddenly gone. I knew I’d written them. I’d known them only minutes before. But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a stammer — until finally, Adam screamed, ‘F-CKING SAY SOMETHING’ and hurled a chair at the wall next to me. ‘WAKE THE F-CK UP,’ he told me. ‘I’M SICK OF WATCHING YOU JUST STARE.’”
At the Cannes press conference following the “Paper Tiger” premiere, Driver was asked to comment on Dunham’s allegations. “I have no comment on any of that,” he said, as per Deadline. “I’m saving it all for my book.”
