Shia LaBeouf left Jon Bernthal in shock with his horrific method acting while filming movie
Shia LaBeouf is a character, to say the least. But one thing you can't deny is that he puts his heart and soul into his work, sometimes to the point of going over the top.
The 38-year-old is best known for starring as Sam Witwicky in the Transformers film series, but he has gone on to play a number of characters in the years since his appearance in the Michael Bay-directed franchise.
One of these roles in particular was in a war film, where LaBeouf starred alongside Jon Bernthal and Brad Pitt, among other A-listers.
In fact, Bernthal had an interesting tidbit about the eccentric actor when speaking about his experience on set with him.
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When did Shia LaBeouf and Jon Bernthal work together?
The pair worked together on Fury, which came out in 2014. Filming took place in the back end of 2013 across various areas in the UK, including the North West and Herefordshire.
The story follows the members of an American tank crew while fighting against Nazi Germany in the latter stages of World War II, on European soil.
LaBeouf played Boyd 'Bible' Swan, a religious tank gunner who often quoted the Bible and was somewhat of a spiritual guide to the rest of the group.
But to understand the character and everything he was going through during the war, he decided to method act, and pushed the boundaries, according to Bernthal.
Method acting essentially means that between rehearsals, the lead up to filming and actually shooting the movie, the actor tries to become the person they are playing - mentally, physically, and emotionally.
What was LaBeouf's method acting?
In an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Bernthal explained: "Shia at the time, he was a guy that, you know, when we did Fury together, that was such a wild experience.
"He was this guy who came in, he pulled his tooth out because he thought his character shouldn't have a tooth.
"He cut his face, he didn't shower for eight months."
LaBeouf himself has also addressed his unique method acting technique. In an interview, shared by Talent Agency Guide, he said: "I went to the grip department, I got some pliers and I ripped my tooth out and spit blood all over the mirror and everybody's like 'oh this is f**king crazy'.
"And if I wasn't around a bunch of people who loved me, I might have gotten fired, you know, but what it did to us was, it like it's game time."
What did Bernthal think of LaBeouf at first?
While Bernthal 'isolated' himself before playing Marvel's The Punisher, he initially had his doubts about LaBeouf.
"At first, when I met him, I was like this guy's just f***ing loud, you know? He's wearing his process on his sleeve, showing everybody how hard he's working," the 48-year-old recalled.
"But what I found after the eight months of working with him was somebody who - and it's just my own [opinion] - this thing is every bit as vital to him as it was for me.
"I found a real partner, I found a real kindred spirit. I found that he was willing to risk it all for the work."
What did other actors on set think?
Logan Lerman, best known for playing the titular role in Percy Jackson, had a similar experience with LaBeouf, explaining to GQ: "He [LaBeouf] walks out into the hallway and says, ‘Hey man, wanna see something fun? Check this out…’ and he takes out a knife and cuts his face.
"For the whole movie, he kept opening these cuts on his face. That’s all real."
That's called commitment.
Topics: Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Film, Celebrity
Joshua Nair