A local actor from Citrus County is making it big in Hollywood.
High school yearbook pictures of Miles Teller are easy to find. The kid who loved drama class is now a serious Hollywood actor, staring on the big screen.
As a student Teller spent a lot of time on stage at Lecanto High School. Just about everyone knows his name on campus.
Ron Allan had Teller in his TV production class before he graduated in 2005.
"He was the little kid that would sit in the front of my room and I used to have to tell him, 'No, you can't go out and roam the halls,' " Allan said.
Allan says Teller was a good student. He has three words to describe the kid he remembers who is now a well-known actor.
"Talented, mischievous, but respectful," Allan said.
That talent is now be recognized in a big way. Teller's latest movie Whiplash has been nominated for a best picture Oscar. He stars alongside J.K. Simmons in this tale about a promising young drummer who enrolls in a cutthroat music school.
Allan says he's proud of Teller and he'll be tuned in on Oscar night.
"Definitely, because I would love to see him go up on the stage," he said.
A local high school kid who is climbing to the top in Hollywood.