Shia LaBeouf is crediting three Hollywood stars with saving his life and helping him stay sober.
The 38-year-old actor has had no shortage of controversy after abuse allegations surfaced from his ex FKA Twigs.
Now he’s on the comeback trail, with a new film from acclaimed writer-director David Mamet called Henry Johnson, in theaters May 9.
The actor opened up about his journey in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
He revealed that three iconic actors have become lifelines – Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin – and helped him get back on track and stay sober.
LaBeouf first met Gibson in 2022, two years after the abuse allegations first surfaced, when the Aussie actor introduced Shia to Latin mass church services while he was researching a movie.
Shia LaBeouf is crediting three Hollywood stars with saving his life and helping him stay sober
The actor opened up about his journey in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter
He revealed that three iconic actors have become lifelines – Mel Gibson , Sean Penn and Josh Brolin – and helped him get back on track and stay sober.
The actor confirmed that he and Gibson are still, ‘very close,’ adding, ‘Big respect, big love. He’s always been very lovely to me.’
Shia added, ‘He held my hand when I was really s****ing on myself. Dude really stepped up for me in big ways.’
‘Him, Sean Penn, James Brolin — these guys got me to sobriety. They got around me and kept me alive,’ LaBeouf admitted.
‘Sean also showed up and motivated me to do this as a play. I was scared as f*** when this thing started,’ the actor said, noting that Penn and Sam Rockwell showed up to support on the first week.
‘There was a bunch of guys that I looked up to that just started popping up. I had never, ever felt that kind of love — not like that,’ he admitted.
When asked if their friendship could be a ‘gateway to rehabilitation,’ LaBeouf admitted, ‘I hope so. I hope my whole life is about that.’
‘I hope my whole life is squaring things, getting it right. It’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. And there’s a lot of things to get right,’ he said.
‘I’m blessed that I still have this craft and I’m still allowed to do it at a high level with the highest. It feels like a f***ing miracle,’ he admitted.
The actor confirmed that he and Gibson are still, ‘very close,’ adding, ‘Big respect, big love. He’s always been very lovely to me.’
‘It’s all part of the same thing — God’s everything or nothing. I believe that. Me and Dave (Mamet) have big God talks,’ he said.
The actor added that, ‘I’ve been to temple with him. He’s been to church with me. Been deep dives for both of us.’
Gibson got sober in 2010 after his controversial anti-Semitic tirade in 2006, and thusly converted to Catholicism like LaBeouf has.
Brolin went sober in 2013 while Penn has supported his son Hopper’s journey to get sober from a crystal meth addiction.
