Actor Shai LaBeouf has proven himself to be every bit the eccentric artist, and his upcoming film Honey Boy is further evidence of his unique peculiarity. LaBeouf how now opened up about how far his distinctive weirdness goes, as well as how far he is willing to go for his particular brand of artistic endeavour because, brace yourselves, he lied to his dad. That’s right, in order to get his dad to sign off on Honey Boy, LaBeouf deceived his father, telling him that none other than Mel Gibson would be portraying him.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to play him, because I was not in a spot where people were like, ‘Hey, let’s put some money on this kid’s back and have him carry a movie.’ I thought my acting career was done. I was going to join the Peace Corps. So I sent it to Mel Gibson and luckily he never emailed me back and it gave me an opportunity. I thought he was the guy to play my dad, and my dad was thinking along the same lines. And it’s one thing to want to play your dad, it’s another thing to go stand in front of your father after seven years of not talking and go, ‘Hey, man, I’m going to play you,’ when there’s contention already. So I lied to him and told him, ‘Mel Gibson’s going to play you. Sign right here.'”
Whether this counts as fraud is open to debate, but LaBeouf’s little white lie seems to have paid off, with the actor being universally praised for his dedication to the role. Regardless, it does not sound like Shia LaBeouf had any qualms about tricking his old man, nor does he seem to feel any guilt in the slightest.
“So my dad signed the paper under the auspices that he was going to be played by Braveheart.”
Shia LaBeouf’s history with his father is a difficult one, with the two not having spoken for almost a decade before the actor decided to tell the story of their strained relationship, which is what the plot of Honey Boy hinges on. Of course, to do his past justice, LaBeouf was obligated to break the extended silence, no doubt a very difficult thing for him to do, but it’s unlikely he helped by adding double-dealing and underhandedness into the mix.
Still, it sounds like the film being made has helped the actor on a very personal level, as we’ve seen in the previously released Honey Boy trailer. He described his reasoning for wanting to bring Honey Boy to the big screen.
“My back was against the wall. I was nuclear at this point. It felt like survival, like there was no other way to go. I didn’t have a lot of people talking to me. I was in a mental institution. And I also had a doctor who was pushing me to explore these dirty parts and write them down.”
Thanks to Honey Boy and this year’s comedy drama Peanut Butter Falcon, LaBeouf’s career is going through something of a resurgence. At least fibbing to his father was worth it, then. This comes from The Hollywood Reporter.
