Fans speculated that there was tension between Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf during the filming of Lawless, a sentiment echoed by the director who sensed something was off. However, despite these rumors, the 2012 film was a success and received strong reviews. Years later, in a 2019 interview with Sean Evans, while munching down some pretty hot wings, Shia LaBeouf finally revealed the truth about what happened behind the scenes. Tom Hardy’s sweet words towards his co-star also squashed the beef even further.
The Alleged Beef Between Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf
Despite the success of the film Lawless, it was often overshadowed by the alleged feud between Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, both of whom starred in the movie together. Although director John Hillcoat confirmed LaBeouf did not knock out Hardy, he did acknowledge the existence of the conflict, even confirming its occurrence through Reddit AMA. He said,
“No, that’s not true. But there was definitely a fight between them. It escalated to the point where they had to both be restrained. But I was very pleased to hear it didn’t go that way because I would hate to see the outcome.”
However, Tom Hardy confirmed reports of him being knocked out in various press interviews (via Cinema Blend), choosing not to divulge further details about the purported altercation. Despite acknowledging the incident, he maintained a discreet stance, leaving much to speculation and curiosity among the public as well as the media.
However, while details of the fight were widely available, the underlying reasons behind it remained shrouded in mystery. Since none of the parties involved came clean, this fueled rampant speculation in the media, leading to exaggerated accounts of the altercation. In the public eye, the feud became far more significant than it actually was, ultimately casting a shadow over the film’s achievements.
The Truth Behind the Alleged Beef Between Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy
It turns out that the two actors actually got along quite well and were just like a bunch of teenage boys when they were around each other, often engaging in playful wrestling matches without any real animosity. While an incident did occur where Hardy was knocked down, it had nothing to do with any underlying hatred between them.
In a 2019 interview on Hot Ones, LaBeouf finally shed light on all the details surrounding the alleged altercation. He said,
“Yeah, it’s a bunch of bullsh-t,–We used to wrestle all the time and [Tom Hardy’s] a big f–king person, especially then. He was getting ready [to play] Bane. We used to f–k with each other all the time but it just so happened that, this one week, my girlfriend was in town and he runs into the room. The girl I was with at the time was terrified,–She covered up and she ran into the kitchen and he picked me up and I didn’t have nothing on so now I’m naked on his shoulder. We’re in the hallway, we’re wrestling around. For the rest of the shoot, he told everybody I knocked him out”
According to LaBeouf’s recollection, the situation arose when Hardy unexpectedly barged into his room, and their shenanigans quickly escalated. So much so, that it reached a climax near the top of a staircase, resulting in Hardy accidentally taking a misstep and falling down several flights.
Perhaps the embarrassing details of the fight kept either of them from opening their mouths, either way, it was pretty hilarious. The two are great friends and had no bad blood between them. In an Esquire interview, Hardy even commended Shia LaBeouf’s acting abilities. He said,
“Shia has the ability to land scene after scene that builds a reality from utter fantasy,–We know the robots aren’t really there [in ‘Transformers’]. They just aren’t. When I watch Shia, they are.”
The two have been great friends ever since and have nothing but respect for one another. Although the rumors held some truth, it wasn’t at all what many had speculated. Instead, the actual reason behind the incident turned out to be something that many fans found absolutely hilarious.
Lawless is available to stream on Max.
