Full Article Text
'rfyl;-l =lttrOIrTES*'
dW hia t-aBeouf was readyto head to
& Yale.Aftergrowinguponcamera
R in lhe Disney TV series "Even Ste-
$ vens" and a number of jncreasingly
W accomolished movies. LaBeouf
wmted to mijor in psychology and study
hild in order to become a better actor.
But then came offers to star in the
summer blockbuster "Transfomers"
('That's the 'Star Wars' for '80s babies,"
says laBeouf of the gimt-robot action
flick), to do voice work in the animat-
ed "Surfs Up," and to anchor the thdller
"Disturbia,'opening Friday, in which he
plays a high-school student under tempo-
rary house arrest who suspects a neigh-
bor (David Morse) of being a serial killer
'Yale was on the back bumer this vear
because all the opportunities arose,"
saysthe20-year-oldLosAngeles /
native But "unless some oppor-
tunities arise that are equal or
more to what happened this
year, I'm going to school "
One opportunity that
hosn't arisen is the next In-
dima Jones movie Arecent
Internet rumor that he'd play
Hanison Ford's son sprked a
wildfire of interest - one sign of
how far taBeouf has risen - and he
politely repeats the fact that there's noth-
ing to it. Still, after the rumors began, did
he ask his agent to check with director
Steven Spielberg about a possible role in
the fourth imtal.lment, due in 2008?
"No," says l-aBeouf frrmly, before
pointing out he's already working with
Spielberg, who's an executive producer
on both "Disturbia" and "Trmsfomers "
"I wouldn't want to jeopardize my re-
lationship with Spielberg, to force my-
seu into a situation that I haven't been
approached about," he says. "l'm sure he
heard about these rumors. lf he thought
it was m interesting idea, he'd approach
me But he hasn't approached me, and
I'm not going to force the hand,"
Smart kid. StiU, if I:Beouf is waiting
for the movie roles to slow down, YaIe
is going to be a long time coming. He
stmed. in the 2003 Disney hit "Holes,"Shia LaBeouf, star of
'Disturbiar' grows up
BY MICHAEL GILTZWHERE'S
LABEOUF? ThE
actor with sarah
Roemer (1.) in
"Disturbia."
Below, in his
breakout Irisney
TV series, "EYen
"Stevens," which
debuted in 1999.
lemed to play golf for "The Greatest
Game Ever Played" in 2005 and last year
had a memorable tum as an acid-tripping
political volunteer ir "Bobby," as well as
the Britty '70s New York-set "A Guide to
Recognizing Your Saints."
But it's not hard to woo laBeouf from
school - a good script will snag him.
"It took me a long time to frnd 'Saints,"'
says la3eouf about his neverending
search for good material. "And when I
found it, they didn't want me for it! I was
the Disneykid So I had to go earn it
"l went to the audition room and
punched a hole in the casting office wall
It was just somewhere I went during the
scene and decided to lfollow itl
"Then I paid to fix the wall "
His passion extends to "Distur'
bia, 'which, LaBeouf says, differs
from the average kid potboiler,
and is more a voyeuristic dra-
ma a la "Rear Window."
"Usually, teen-thriller
f,Ims are very one-note, just
screaming and ming all
the time It doesn't seem
veryhuman Ithinkpeople
are sick of that." he says.
"But we do have a bunch of
different windows. There are [sev.
erall elements to the fiIm."
LaBeouf does seem to have an old-
school actor's soul inside his Gen-Y
body, and prefers not to get caught up in
ilgst or intemal dramas. And he hm fun
while making movies, even if co-stars
like Morse ('The Crossing Guard,"'The
Green Mile") need to work another way.
"He's one of the best character actors
funerica has," says LaBeouf of Morse. "It
was tough to be on set with him, though,
because he's Method and was into his
thing We didn't talk for two months, that
was part of his joumey.?
The next part of LaBeouf's journey is
hosting "Saturday Night Live" this week.
. "When you start in this industry there
are a few things you dream about: An
Academy Awrd, Scorsese, Spielberg
and 'SNL.' I'm 20 md two of those four
things are off my list. It's nuts!" o
dW hia t-aBeouf was readyto head to
& Yale.Aftergrowinguponcamera
R in lhe Disney TV series "Even Ste-
$ vens" and a number of jncreasingly
W accomolished movies. LaBeouf
wmted to mijor in psychology and study
hild in order to become a better actor.
But then came offers to star in the
summer blockbuster "Transfomers"
('That's the 'Star Wars' for '80s babies,"
says laBeouf of the gimt-robot action
flick), to do voice work in the animat-
ed "Surfs Up," and to anchor the thdller
"Disturbia,'opening Friday, in which he
plays a high-school student under tempo-
rary house arrest who suspects a neigh-
bor (David Morse) of being a serial killer
'Yale was on the back bumer this vear
because all the opportunities arose,"
saysthe20-year-oldLosAngeles /
native But "unless some oppor-
tunities arise that are equal or
more to what happened this
year, I'm going to school "
One opportunity that
hosn't arisen is the next In-
dima Jones movie Arecent
Internet rumor that he'd play
Hanison Ford's son sprked a
wildfire of interest - one sign of
how far taBeouf has risen - and he
politely repeats the fact that there's noth-
ing to it. Still, after the rumors began, did
he ask his agent to check with director
Steven Spielberg about a possible role in
the fourth imtal.lment, due in 2008?
"No," says l-aBeouf frrmly, before
pointing out he's already working with
Spielberg, who's an executive producer
on both "Disturbia" and "Trmsfomers "
"I wouldn't want to jeopardize my re-
lationship with Spielberg, to force my-
seu into a situation that I haven't been
approached about," he says. "l'm sure he
heard about these rumors. lf he thought
it was m interesting idea, he'd approach
me But he hasn't approached me, and
I'm not going to force the hand,"
Smart kid. StiU, if I:Beouf is waiting
for the movie roles to slow down, YaIe
is going to be a long time coming. He
stmed. in the 2003 Disney hit "Holes,"Shia LaBeouf, star of
'Disturbiar' grows up
BY MICHAEL GILTZWHERE'S
LABEOUF? ThE
actor with sarah
Roemer (1.) in
"Disturbia."
Below, in his
breakout Irisney
TV series, "EYen
"Stevens," which
debuted in 1999.
lemed to play golf for "The Greatest
Game Ever Played" in 2005 and last year
had a memorable tum as an acid-tripping
political volunteer ir "Bobby," as well as
the Britty '70s New York-set "A Guide to
Recognizing Your Saints."
But it's not hard to woo laBeouf from
school - a good script will snag him.
"It took me a long time to frnd 'Saints,"'
says la3eouf about his neverending
search for good material. "And when I
found it, they didn't want me for it! I was
the Disneykid So I had to go earn it
"l went to the audition room and
punched a hole in the casting office wall
It was just somewhere I went during the
scene and decided to lfollow itl
"Then I paid to fix the wall "
His passion extends to "Distur'
bia, 'which, LaBeouf says, differs
from the average kid potboiler,
and is more a voyeuristic dra-
ma a la "Rear Window."
"Usually, teen-thriller
f,Ims are very one-note, just
screaming and ming all
the time It doesn't seem
veryhuman Ithinkpeople
are sick of that." he says.
"But we do have a bunch of
different windows. There are [sev.
erall elements to the fiIm."
LaBeouf does seem to have an old-
school actor's soul inside his Gen-Y
body, and prefers not to get caught up in
ilgst or intemal dramas. And he hm fun
while making movies, even if co-stars
like Morse ('The Crossing Guard,"'The
Green Mile") need to work another way.
"He's one of the best character actors
funerica has," says LaBeouf of Morse. "It
was tough to be on set with him, though,
because he's Method and was into his
thing We didn't talk for two months, that
was part of his joumey.?
The next part of LaBeouf's journey is
hosting "Saturday Night Live" this week.
. "When you start in this industry there
are a few things you dream about: An
Academy Awrd, Scorsese, Spielberg
and 'SNL.' I'm 20 md two of those four
things are off my list. It's nuts!" o