The Mustachification of Miles Teller

Viacom/ Amanda Lauro

In a move no one saw coming, Miles Teller may just be the internet boyfriend of Summer 2022 — and boy, did he earn it. With a résumé chock-full of crush-worthy roles (Willard from Footloose, we miss you) and the added plus of having a Taylor Swift music video appearance to his name, it's honestly a wonder why the masses didn't get to him sooner. But while ticking box after undeniable box for the past decade should have been enough to skyrocket the actor to a Hollywood Chris level of acclaim long ago, it turns out it only took Miles three seconds to solidify his spot as a bona fide sex symbol, take over the entirety of TikTok, and single-handedly revive the movie industry in a matter of weeks (only half-kidding).

Now, you may be wondering, with his blatant charm, dashing good looks, and a stacked IMDb page to boot, why are we just now experiencing this sudden onset of Miles Teller mania? Easy: It's all in the mustache, baby.

While the polarizing facial hair trend first made its way to Teller's upper lip while filming the role of Rooster in the Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, it was the movie's introduction to the public (see: that beach scene) that instantly sent the internet into a collective thirst-filled frenzy. Soon after the film's May 27 release, it was impossible to scroll through TikTok without seeing his 'stache — or hearing the original Top Gun theme song, "Take My Breath Away" — somewhere in your feed, and yet? It never got old. Did any of us really know what the movie was about? Nope. But did we all start pressuring our boyfriends to grow a mustache almost immediately after? Absolutely.

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Whether talking, tweeting, or texting, it seemed most everyone came to the same conclusion: the man looks damn good with facial hair — and apparently, we aren't the only ones who thought so. Case in point? During a chat with Vulture, filmmaker Joseph Kosinski revealed that he thought a mustache was so imperative to the role, he photoshopped one onto Teller before pitching a photo of him to Tom Cruise. Though Kosinski added that Miles later won the role all on his own, we'd like to think the faux furry upper lip definitely earned him some style points

Hearing the cries of the people, Paramount Pictures indulged the zeitgeist even further by later releasing a "never-before-seen" musical scene from the movie in which Teller — and more importantly, his mustache — performs "Great Balls of Fire" while playing the piano. So, as if we needed another reason to stan, we now add "voice of an angel" to the already long list.

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Like all good things, Miles's mustache era came to an end almost as quickly as it began. Although he was bare-faced before the movie even hit theaters, the stache's impact will last far beyond its box office run. It's impossible to say why the catalyst for Teller's transition from sweet, baby-faced boy-next-door into full-on rugged heartthrob came from a single strip of facial hair, but many of us aren't complaining. After all, it's long overdue that the actor got some well-deserved recognition, and if it took a mustache for the world to finally hop on the Miles Teller bandwagon, so be it.