Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal on Embracing the Ring With Boxing Drama ‘Bleed for This’

Sandra Miska

In the sports drama “Bleed for This,” Miles Teller portrays Vinny Pazienza, a boxer who made an extraordinary comeback following a car accident that nearly robbed him of his ability to walk. Teller, along with writer-director Ben Younger, co-stars Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal, recently discussed the challenges and rewards of making the film.

Teller, known for his role as the young drummer in “Whiplash,” saw the movie as an opportunity to go outside of his comfort zone. He got into peak physical shape to accurately represent champion boxer, Vinny. “I always liked when I’d go to a movie and I’d see an actor in something and he was doing an accent or he had a prosthetic on, he looked a little different or he did something with his body,” he said. “I felt like it was time for me to challenge myself in that way.”

Eckhart, who plays Vinny’s trainer, had to undergo a physical transformation for his role as Kevin Sweeny, who was past his prime by the time he met Vinny. But it wasn’t as difficult –– he had to put on a gut. “I went from arugula to margarita pepperoni pizza every day,” he said. “I’m glad I did it. It lets the audience believe in the character and forget about me.”

A boxing film was a natural fit for Eckhart, as he has been practicing the sport for 20 years, having picked it up while getting in shape for his role in “Erin Brockovich.” “I work boxing into my workouts every single day,” he said. “I always say to actors, ‘You gotta do three things; you’ve got to learn how to ride a horse, shoot a gun and throw a punch.’ Because if you learn those things early, whether you’re a man or a woman, you’re going to do them in your career.”

“I love boxing,” said Sagal, who plays Vinny’s mother Louise. “It’s not like I’m obsessed and I have to watch, but I love a good fight. I can watch it almost like a dance. I can observe the technique and appreciate it, and so it’s not so much that I want to see somebody get punched in the face and knocked down. Although that’s pretty exciting.”

Writer-director Younger was not a big boxing fan going into this project. “I was not an aficionado,” he said. “I have become one since. I didn’t get that whole sweet science thing. Now I do.” So what did inspire the filmmaker to tell Vinny’s story? “The comeback. Without that crash, I never would have made this movie. No way.” He was impressed that Pazienza loved boxing so much he was willing to risk paralysis to keep fighting, a risk he wouldn’t take for any reason. “I’m not going to risk walking for anything in my life.”

Like Vinny, Teller was in a near-fatal car accident. Although he escaped without becoming paralyzed, the crash left him with physical scars on his face and neck. Did this experience have any impact on his movie choices?

“I’ve never called my agent and said, ‘Alright, does it have a car accident? No? I’m not in. I just think it’s part of growing up in the United States. Honestly, I’ve lost in my own life three people that I’ve grown up with, two of my best friends, in car accidents. I just feel like pretty much everybody I know has been in a car accident, a pretty serious one, or they know someone who has. My car accident happened very much like Vinny’s. You’re kind of left to pick up the pieces and recover. More the recovery process, though not as extreme as Vinny’s, I could relate to.”

How did the real Vinny, who is still very much alive, impact Teller and his performance? “By the time I met Vinny, I was not going to take anything from him because he’s not the same person now. He’s 25 years older now. He talks differently; he’s not this 27-year-old kid anymore. But at the same time, he was really nice. I remember at first thinking I wouldn’t want him on set. I thought that was weird and I was just so intimidated. I’m just a friggin’ actor and I’m pretending to be this badass. Then once we get on set and I saw Aaron and Katey and Ciaran Hinds and the sets and the costumes, it just all felt real. Now I wanted him on set because I wanted him to see his life 25 years ago. Having seen Vinny’s reaction to the film, I see that we captured his home life. The fights you can watch and you can imitate, but to capture his home life and to give just another added element to his parents and his mom kind of keeps the spirit alive of all of it in a way. I think that was really touching for him.”

Eckhart agreed. “Vinny is passionate about this movie. He loves this movie. He cried watching it. He loves Miles. He helped us out; he was there with us. It’s a very good representation of his life.”

The veracity of the home scenes in “Bleed for This” owe much to Segal and her subtle performance. “Louise is sort of the quieting force,” she said. “It’s that quiet motherly vibe that set the tone of the family.”

Sagal is best known for “Married with Children” and “Sons of Anarchy.” She doesn’t see film as a step up and is more interested in the kind of role she’s offered rather than whether it’s TV or film. “I still feel grateful whenever I get a job. But I love working on television. Television has been an amazing place for me.”

“Bleed for This” opens Nov. 18 nationwide.