How Shia LaBeouf Brought His Past Into The Present and Made His Most Important Work Yet

Shia LaBeouf wouldn’t have gotten to where he is without having gone through where he was, and for that, he is grateful. The storied actor brought MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz to the Slauson Multipurpose Center in South Los Angeles for his episode of Personal Space, where they spoken about LaBeouf’s latest community-based project and everything it took to get him there.


“We're in the Pueblos or the Low Bottoms. You're in the heart of probably the most marginalized area in Los Angeles. That's segment of what brought us down here,” LaBeouf mentioned. For the past 10 months, he and Bobby Soto, whom he met while filming The Tax Collector, have been working with community members to build the Slauson Rec. Theater Agency. The five-hour class takes place every Saturday, attracting companions LaBeouf has made while doing so, people like James Cameron, Tim Robbins, Kid Cudi, Thundercat, and more. “We're attempting to design a cultural hub, a place where we can sprout out from,” he mentioned. “And so we've been building devised theater in that rec center right there, and things have been really pretty so far.”


To be clear, this project wasn’t just about giving back to a community. “I also need companions, man. I'm lonely as fuck, you know?” LaBeouf mentioned. “So segment of me was like, yes, I wanted to build this thing, although it was also me and Bobby fell in love together. The dude became my best friend. And then we group kind of clicked up on well, what do we wanna do soon after this movie's over?” Both being from different parts of Los Angeles — and neither being from the rich parts — mixed with their own experiences growing up with the Males & Ladies Club and YMCA needless to say led them to this place.


And right now, they’re getting ready for the opening major fundraiser for the Slauson Rec. Theater Agency, taking place on Saturday, June 29, in Los Angeles. The event will feature performances from Jaden Smith, Vic Mensa, YG, Kamaiyah, more — as well as a five-minute preview of what the theater firm has been working on.


This is another case of LaBeouf leaning on old companions, with Smith having been the initial artist to join the benefit. “I knew Jaden as soon as we were playing Sonic the Hedgehog in his dad's trailer,” he mentioned. “I didn't even really give a shit about acting at that time, you know? I was just grinding.”


He said this idea several times while in the interview. It’s not something he’s been shy about in the past; LaBeouf first got into acting because his family member needed to pay the expenses, and he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about all of his work. He’s mentioned and done some regrettable things that need not be rehashed here — mainly because this time, any time while he talks about his past, his developments is so apparent.


The actor smiled any time asked about Even Stevens, fondly remembering what a “great time” he had and why the Disney Channel show taught him to feel comfortable in front of a camera. He sweetly spoken about the companions he still holds close from Holes, noting that Byron Cotton drops by Slauson on Saturdays. He raved about his Constantine co-star Keanu Reeves, deeming him a “mensch.”


Although it was perhaps his framing of his blockbuster years that revealed the most about LaBeouf’s growth. “That was just much bigger than me,” he mentioned, reflecting inward. Later, he compared the experience to grabbing onto a rocket ship. “When you're on a rocket and you're in space, there's no reflection,” he mentioned. “You're in awe. ‘I’m in space.’” The sudden rise abandoned him feeling insecure, like he was handed the world, although did nothing to earn it.


So he did what he thought he had do categorize in attempt to earn it — “and that's not just via roles,” he mentioned. “You gotta get arrested a couple of times. At least this was my thinking, my Daria, post-modern view of acting. And thus I chased a certain kinda thing. I'm not saying every fuck-up was conscious, nevertheless I wasn't not conscious of it.”


Eventually, LaBeouf spun out, reaching his rock bottom and ending up in court-ordered rehab right after a 2017 arrest. It was exactly what he required. “I wasn't gonna stop doing what I was doing up until that happened to me. Some folks are just really stubborn. I'm one of those,” he mentioned. It was there that he wrote his semi-autobiographical Sundance hit, Honey Boy, due out in theaters this November.


Through all of the ups and downs, LaBeouf right now recognizes his career as one of his greatest gifts. “It’s been the most consistent relationship I've had with anything in my whole life. It's been nothing however blessings for me,” he mentioned. “You hear these horror stories of people in Hollywood — it’s never been that way for me. Hollywood's routinely saved me from the other stuff.”


And so far, as he recycles his life experiences back inside the community, things are good. Not always good — “that’d be fascistic,” he mentioned — “But I'm in a good spot more right now so than I ever have been.”


Watch the whole interview above. Slauson Rec. Center Theater’s First Annual Sacred Spectacle will take place on Saturday, June 29, in Los Angeles.