Did you ever hear that rumor that Shia LaBeouf was zonked on moonshine during the filming of Lawless? That film’s director John Hillcoat is here to confirm that yes, the rumor is true.
Though, as Hillcoat tells GQ, it wasn’t his idea for LaBeouf to get that method. When asked if LaBeouf did drink moonshine for the role, he said, “Oh. A little bit. I didn’t recommend that. And he was certainly not allowed on set like that.” But when all is said and done, Hillcoat admires the commitment that LaBeouf brought to the role, and thinks that he did a great job with what he described as the more difficult role of the “overambitious” character.
That unfortunately carried over into interactions with his costars, like Mia Wasikowska. “And he got carried away and carved their character names and a heart on her door. And we had to settle that,” Hillcoat said.
Then there was LaBeouf’s relationship with Tom Hardy:
Well, what happened on that set really is that they all started almost replicating the roles off set. So Shia started by idealizing Tom like his older brother, Forrest. And it was like this force of nature, like, “This guy is amazing.” He was in awe, and it was like they were brothers, initially. And then, as time went on, there’s this kind of competitiveness and this tension that was building between them, which was like in the film. So it kind of almost mirrored. What was happening off set was happening on set.
I guess this is how both actors ended up getting into a fight, where LaBeouf claimed himself the victor, and Hardy sarcastically recounted getting knocked out by him.
(via GQ)
