The Rise of Shia LaBeouf

15 October 2008

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Shia LaBeouf is the young star whose has, in a very short space of time, climbed the Hollywood tree to become one of it’s most promising newcomers winning over fans and big named directors with his performances.

Despite starring in movies such as Holes and I Robot he made his big breakthrough in the summer of 2007 in Michael Bay’s Transformers, a role which propelled him to super stardom.

And this week sees him return to the big screen in Eagle Eye, a film which reunites him with Disturbia director D.J Caruso.

Eagle Eye is a change of pace again for the young actor as he takes on the political thriller in the role of Jerry Shaw who is thrown together with stranger Rachel Holloman by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met.

Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations--using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move.

As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening--and more importantly, why.

Despite not receiving glittering reviews from the critics Shia fans have come out in droves sending Eagle Eye to the top of the US box office as well as around the world proving that anything with his name on the cast list is, for now at least, a sure fire hit.

And in the short space of just twelve months he has taken on robots, stopped a serial killer and learnt to surf this summer sees him return in Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as an all American action hero.

Impressed by LaBeouf's Transformers performance Steven Spielberg signed him up for the role of the motorcycle-riding greaser Mutt Williams in the fourth movie of the Indy franchise

Set in 1957 and the Cold War the retiring college professor Jones becomes embroiled in a race against the Russians to find the Crystal Skull, which is believed to harness supernatural, possibly extra-terrestrial powers. Jones also faces a blast from the past who is not too happy that he abandoned her twenty years ago.

For LaBeouf, at the age of twenty one, the role of delinquent Mutt is a dream come true and his biggest on screen adventure and challenge of his short career with all star cast Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett and Ray Winstone.

For this role LaBeouf gained fifteen pounds and underwent a punishing fitness regime of three hours a day seven days a week of running and lifting weights, needless to say this fourth Indy movie was a box office smash.

Next year see LaBeouf return to the characters Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which is currently being filmed. And away from blockbuster roles he will also be part of an ensemble cast in New York, I Love You.

New York, I Love You is a collective work of twelve short films each running around 5 minutes long are all rolled into one, created by several international directors in New York's five boroughs, with a common theme of finding love interwoven into each of the five minute shorts and stars Orlando Bloom, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci and Kevin Bacon.

Eagle Eye is released 17th October

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw