The 'American Honey' actor disses the 'Indiana Jones' director while singing high praise for the 'Transformers' helmer and addressing his rocky past.
- Sep 7, 2016
AceShowbiz - Shia LaBeouf gave a candid interview for his cover story on Variety's latest issue. The "Fury" actor talked about the directors he worked with in the past, making scathing comments about Steven Spielberg while singing high praise for Michael Bay.
"I grew up with this idea, if you got to Spielberg, that's where it is," he said. "You get there, and you realize you're not meeting the Spielberg you dream of. You're meeting a different Spielberg, who is in a different stage in his career. He's less a director than he is a f**king company."
According to him, he didn't have a room to grow as an actor when he worked with the director. "Spielberg's sets are very different," he revealed. "Everything has been so meticulously planned. You got to get this line out in 37 seconds. You do that for five years, you start to feel like not knowing what you're doing for a living."
Spielberg directed LaBouf in "Disturbia", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Eagle Eye", but the actor said, "I don't like the movies that I made with Spielberg. The only movie that I liked that we made together was Transformers one," which was produced by the iconic filmmaker.
LaBeouf felt he was unfairly blamed for the disappointing result of "The Crystal Skull". He opened up, "I prepped for a year and a half. And then the movie comes out, and it's your fault. That s**t hurt bad."
While he wasn't fond of Spielberg, the former child star admired the "Transformers" director, Michael Bay. "Mike is an artist," LaBeouf gushed. "People don't realize how dope that dude is. He's got to get a little ballsier with his moves - he's trying to toe the line and be James Cameron, but James Camerons are dying. I don't know what he's chasing, but that version of director is dead. If Mike is to sustain, he's got to get f**king weird."
The "American Honey" star who previously blamed his drunken stupor for plagiarizing David Clowes comic also discussed his journey to getting sober. He said, "You don't touch it ... alcohol, or any of that s**t, will send you haywire. I can't f**k with none of it. I've got to keep my head low."
Still, he acknowledged his dark past for helping with his career. "I don't think I'd be working with the directors I've been working with if I had not fucked up a bit," he explained. "They wanted a f**king fireball. They wanted a loose cannon. I'm learning how to distill my 'crazy' into something manageable, that I can shape and deliver on the day...I was an open wound bleeding on everything."
But when his demon finally caught with him, it's not without consequence. "People I respected - dudes I wanted to work with - just looked me in the eyes and said, 'Life's too short for this s**t.' I'm still earning my way back. I'm happy working," he said.
LaBeouf revealed he almost starred in "Suicide Squad" as Deadshot but Warner Brothers vetoed him. "The character was different initially. Then Will [Smith] came in, and the script changed a bit. That character and Tom [Hardy's] character [later played by Joel Kinnaman] got written down to build Will up," he dished on. "I don't think Warner Bros. wanted me. I went in to meet, and they were like, 'Nah, you're crazy. You're a good actor, but not this one.' It was a big investment for them."
He also commented on the Academy Awards snub, "The Oscars are about politics. I gotta earn my way back. It's not about who is the best. I'm not that guy for a long time - for a long, long time ... I'm good with that, though. Sometimes that s**t is a curse."
