Shia LaBeouf On Success and Perceptions

30-06-2007 09:00

Rising Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf thinks every actor is a liar.

The actor stars in one of the summer’s most eagerly awaited films, ‘Transformers’.

Despite his success, the young actor keeps a low profile, by avoiding the glitz and glamour of the Hollywood party scene and having as normal a life as possible. He said: "I don’t go to clubs and you won’t see me out partying. I want a career like the acting legends I admire, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, Nicholas Cage and Sean Penn,

If I’m perceived as someone like that, I’m going to be screwed trying to give a Michael Caine performance. Being seen just as a celebrity can be as bad as having your movie tank. I want to have a career that’s different from some of the people of my generation."

LaBeouf - who is a keen surfer - is determined to maintain such as ordinary a life as possible so film fans can suspend disbelief when watching him on the big screen. He said: "If the industry takes you lightly because you’re always partying, then they will take your work lightly as well."

What surprised you when you saw the film ‘Transformers’ on screen

The effects are at a whole different level that I could ever possibly conceive. I’ve never seen graphics of this level and the Bumblebee Transformer that I was talking to didn’t look like Bumblebee. I mean, he was a green ball on a stick. And I loved that guy. You love that thing. You’ve gotta feel that way. That’s your best friend, dying, when they say action. It’s strange to see him because that’s not the guy you envisioned and he’s even cooler than you possibly could have conceived. For me, it’s awesome to see it. It’s the first movie where I could sit back and not be completely selfish in my viewing. A lot of times I don’t watch my movies and enjoy them, it’s study time. Like, ‘Oh, I caught you there.’ When I watch movies, that’s what I’m doing. But this was the first time I didn’t care about myself. It was the first time I didn’t care about that and it was the first time I enjoyed myself.

What did you like about appearing in this film

It’s very reactionary. People say Michael Bay is not an actor’s director but I disagree. He puts you as close to the flame as possible so you don’t have to conjure it up. It’d be real difficult to imagine you’re on the side of a building on a green screen but Bay doesn’t do that. He puts you on the side of a building. So it’s very reactionary. He’s gonna put you in these situations for real. The first day he said to me, ‘You’re going to get injured.’ Then you just have that mindset that you’re not invincible.

Did you get hurt during the filming

We were doing things with these motor explosives… I missed my step and I got to close to it and it blew up and some shrapnel hit me. It was my fault, if I had been paying attention I wouldn’t have gotten too close to it. It wasn’t stitches or anything, it just caught me.

There was a lot of improvisation in the film, which was interesting. Yeah, because it’s usually so strategised because it’s such a big budget project but Mike is so nonchalant about it. With these big movies, for him, he’s done it so many times, he’s kind of jaded. It’s like, ‘We’re going to blow up a building, don’t worry about it.’ He’s ordering his food while Los Angeles is exploding, ‘Yeah, I’ll take the chicken. Thanks.’

What’s it like working with Michael Bay

I feel like Michael Bay and me have a big brother, little brother friendship, like ‘F**k you, Mike.’ ‘F**k you, Shia.’ We’re friends and sometimes you take stuff Mike says too seriously. That’s why he’s got a bad rep’. I’m not the actor that needs a hug in the morning and Mike’s not the director who’s going to give you a hug in the morning so it works. If you’re the actor that needs to be nurtured, don’t do a Michael Bay movie.

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