Shia LaBeouf is an iconic actor who has had a certain aura of controversy around him ever since starring in Transformers. From various reports and rumors, LaBeouf has certain behaviors that are problematic for his co-stars and film crews but one film takes the cake.
Having quite a plethora of movies to his name, LaBeouf found worldwide fame when he portrayed the role of Sam Whitwicky in Michael Bay’s 2007 film Transformers. After leaving the franchise, the actor explored other projects until he was cast in the 2014 film Fury.
Shia LaBeouf Is Definitely Not A Method Actor
Starring alongside Jon Bernthal, Brad Pitt, and, Logan Lerman, LaBeouf portrayed the role of Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan in David Ayer’s 2014 film, Fury. Being an iconic film based on the historical war in 1945 Germany, Shia LaBeouf portrayed the character beautifully.
But to get to that stage, Shia LaBeouf had to resort to some unconventional forms of acting to get into the role of the character. Method acting refers to an actor doing things that their on-screen character would do to get into the mindset of their roles. A famous example of this would be veteran actor Heath Ledger locking himself up for the portrayal of Joker in The Dark Knight.
What LaBeouf did is quite similar to method acting but the actor swears that he isn’t a method actor. In an interview with Bishop Robert Barron on YouTube, the Transformers actor revealed that people put the name of ‘method actor’ on him and that he didn’t identify with that train of thought.
I think people put that on me. I don’t identify with that school of thought, really. […] I don’t know if I’m a method guy. And I think some of that stuff’s ridiculous.
On the other hand, the shenanigans that LaBeouf did on the sets of Fury were completely contradictory to his point. With the actor portraying the role of a tank crew, Shia LaBeouf went to some extreme and unpleasant methods to get his results!
Even Brad Pitt Complained About Shia LaBeouf’s Antics!
Being proud of his activities, Shia LaBeouf revealed in a separate interview with Dazed Digital that he did some unconventional things while filming Fury. From self-mutilation to pulling his own tooth out, LaBeouf had quite the list!
The list included some disgusting things that the actor claims he did to get into the mindset of his character of Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan but he swears that it wasn’t method acting!
I pulled my tooth out, knifed my face up, and spent days watching horses die. I didn’t bathe for four months.
A source close to The Daily Mail told the outlet (at that time) that even veteran actor Brad Pitt was troubled by LaBeouf’s antics!
Shia was warned about his behavior by several people on set, including Brad Pitt and director David Ayer. Shia drove everyone mad on set trying to prove that he was the most dedicated star.
It seems that LaBeouf’s antics paid off since David Ayer’s Fury received a rating of 7.6/10 on IMDB and a whopping 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film received 5 notable awards. However, Shia LaBeouf wasn’t nominated for any of them.
With high ratings and controversial forms of acting, Fury is available to stream on AMC in the U.S.
