Shia LaBeouf Interview

Summary

5CAST w/ Andrew Callaghan

Episode: Shia LaBeouf Interview
Date: March 1, 2026

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Overview

In this deeply candid and sprawling conversation, Andrew Callaghan sits down with actor and artist Shia LaBeouf in Uptown, New Orleans, a week after Mardi Gras. The episode dives into Shia's recent controversies, his struggles and reflections on addiction, responsibility, spirituality, and identity, as well as his unique perspectives on fame, community, and American culture. Shia moves between introspection, storytelling, and philosophical riffing, openly wrestling with his flaws, upbringing, and the ongoing process of personal growth.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Recent Controversy & Accountability

• Mardi Gras Incident & Arrest:

  • Shia recounts his altercation during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, openly admitting his fault.
  • Quote: "I've been having the time of my life, you know, I got some contrition on my heart... People got hurt. I gotta deal with that. I'm gonna deal with that in full. I'll eat it all. It was on me. It's not on them. It's on me. I fucked up." (00:52)
  • On taking responsibility: "We’re not gonna play games." (01:13)

• Walking Through the Incident:

  • Shia describes being drunk and feeling "infringed upon" but fully acknowledges he was not in his right mind.
  • The mechanics of public life and being a target for confrontation, clout-chasing, and the complexities of fame are discussed (05:19–06:06).

• Jail Experience:

  • Describes night in Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) on Fat Tuesday—crowded, but “pretty cute,” sharing a blanket and food with another inmate.
  • Quote: "There was 50 of us... we became friends with whoever you're getting processed with... one fisherman could see another fisherman from afar." (07:31, 08:11)

• Legal Uncertainty:

  • Facing two misdemeanor battery charges, possibly more severe charges, but reiterates: "Whatever it is, I'll do whatever it is. It was no good, bro. My behavior’s dirty, ugly, disgusting, so I gotta eat it, you know?" (09:04)

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2. Addiction, Recovery, and Spiritual Struggle

• Sobriety Timeline:

  • Cycles in and out of AA rooms since 18, longest period sober was two years (10:01).
  • Quote: "I've probably run a program since I'm 18... in and out, in and out... Longest I ever had probably this two year clip." (11:34)

• Struggle with Traditional Recovery:

  • Wrestles with "rigid" nature of recovery programs clashing with a desire for "mystery" and "joy" (12:38–13:32).
  • Quote: "The restrictive nature of recovery leads you into unhappiness... you feel like you’re depriving yourself of something... which is joy." (12:38–12:59)

• Spiritual & Mystical Desires:

  • Seeks "luminosity" and sacred experience, quoting G.K. Chesterton on the importance of mystery and mysticism in mental health (13:52–14:49).
  • Quote: "'Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery, you have health. When you destroy mystery, you create morbidity...'" (14:19)

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3. Fame, Public Life & Community

• Navigating Fame:

  • Endlessly approached for photos/interaction since Even Stevens; sees himself as a "public sibling" or “uncle” for American audiences (18:59).
  • Quote: "It’d be like me running into Will Smith. Give me a picture. I grew up with you. You owe it to me. You’re my uncle." (19:19)

• Authenticity and Boundaries:

  • Balances desire to connect with others with the need to establish boundaries, especially when public cross them (19:48–20:08).
  • Quote: "You got to be authentic or, you know, otherwise you go to hell." (19:49)

• Roots & Family History:

  • Details complex family background, including roots in Louisiana and LA, and stories of his grandmother running with the Beat poets (02:10–03:53).

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4. Masculinity, Anger, and Challenges

• Napoleon Complex & Confrontation:

  • Attributes many conflicts to his "small man complex," anger, and ego rather than substance abuse per se (36:05).

• Personal Space, Masculinity, and Vulnerabilities:

  • Explains that boundary violations around his family and personal space trigger powerful reactions (37:17).
  • Candid discussion of his father’s trauma and how it shaped his protective tendencies and complicated views around masculinity and confrontation (37:48–38:25).

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5. Faith, Catholicism, and Seeking God

• Catholic Identity:

  • Deeply frames sobriety, struggle, and redemption in a Catholic context.
  • Quote: "I’m on a full blown love affair with Jesus. And I believe what I believe." (39:13)
  • Explains his Trinitarian beliefs and differentiates from aggressive proselytizing.

• Spiritual Crisis & Recovery:

  • Shia recounts a suicide attempt, revealing the pivotal moment a phone call from an AA friend “bought him the night” and helped save his life (58:59–59:07).
  • Quote: "I put a gun in my mouth. I was ready to kill myself, blow my brains out... my mom, so God bless her, kept me alive that night... there was a dude who hit me up... he bought me the night." (58:59–59:07)

• Prayer Practice:

  • Demonstrates how he prays—getting quiet to hear a voice of loving guidance, "like Cus D'Amato," encouraging others to practice listening in silence (69:23–70:08).

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6. History, Culture & American Cities

• Laments the Loss of Old LA:

  • Describes cultural shift, gentrification, and loss of authentic community in LA, especially the vanishing of Chicano and gang culture and the erasure of memory (47:26–52:03).
  • Contrasts LA with New Orleans’ respect for its own history—“plaques everywhere” marking cultural memory.

• Annoyance at the Lack of Recognition for Black & Minority Culture:

  • Discusses failures in placing cultural “plaques” or memorials for places like Temple Street in LA, O’Block in Chicago, and Lil Wayne’s home in New Orleans (51:17).

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7. Personal Relationships & Co-Parenting

• On Divorce & Co-Parenting:
  • Open about failure of his marriage to Mia Goth, expressing continual admiration and gratitude for her (40:58–41:35).
  • Quote: "She's incredible. Mia Goth, incredible all time. 10 out of 10." (40:58)
  • Describes efforts to maintain healthy co-parenting for their three-year-old daughter, prioritizing her happiness and stability.

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8. Projects, Art, and Next Steps

• Film Projects:
  • Prepping film about Angola Prison Rodeo, discussing the complexity and humanity of those incarcerated (62:13–64:13).
• Views on Media:
  • Expresses hope for new, independent media and streaming models that give creators control. Sees traditional media as "over" (67:46–68:25).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Taking Responsibility:
  "I fucked up. It's on me." (00:52)

• On Fame & the Public:
  "I'm a bright light, G. So I come out here, I'm out here and sexy. You know what I mean?" (05:01)

• On Recovery:
  "I don’t know how to get to joy and run program, like, as rigid as they run it." (11:34)

• On Spirituality:
  "I'm on my relationship. I'm in a full blown love affair with Jesus." (39:13)

• On Legacy & Community:
  “I just want to fit in. Which again, goes back to this drinking, goes back to AA, goes back to this whole thing... If you really boil the whole thing down, bro, I like connecting with people. I'm desperate to connect with people. And I love Mardi Gras and I love New Orleans.” (49:13)

• On Struggle & Wisdom:
  "I learn more when things go wrong, that's for sure." (40:03)

• On Media:
  "I don't give a what they do. They're dead or. Anyway, so over... Cheers. Over." (67:46–67:54)

• On Prayer:
  "Shut the up till you hear [the loving guidance]... For me, loving guidance. Which sounds something like John Madden. It's loving and it's, it's, it's not. It's. It's like a coach." (69:23–70:08)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening/Mardi Gras Reflection: 00:00–02:07
• Family and Louisiana/Personal History: 02:07–04:29
• Heartbreak and Move to NOLA: 04:29–05:19
• Bar Fight Breakdown/Responsibility: 05:19–09:19
• Jail Tales/Fat Tuesday: 06:54–09:19
• Alcohol, Sobriety, and Recovery: 09:19–14:19
• Mysticism & Joy: 13:32–14:49
• Navigating Fame/Public: 17:11–20:08
• Masculinity & Ego: 36:05–38:25
• Faith, God, and Redemption: 39:13–40:47
• Family, Divorce, Co-Parenting: 40:47–42:23
• New Orleans & LA Cultural Discussion: 46:47–52:03
• Art, Projects, Media Philosophy: 67:46–68:25
• Exercise, Community, Current Routine: 62:00–62:46
• Angola Rodeo and Incarceration: 62:24–64:13
• Spiritual Growth in Suffering: 64:13–65:59
• Prayer Practice: 69:23–70:40
• Closing Reflections: 70:59–71:00

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Conclusion

This episode offers a raw and honest look at Shia LaBeouf’s current inner world: fiercely self-critical, mystically hopeful, devoted to his daughter, and yearning for deeper connection and redemption. LaBeouf’s flow ranges from raucous storytelling to flashes of emotional vulnerability and sharp insight. His perspectives on fame, spirituality, authenticity, American culture, and struggle are unvarnished and at times volatile, befitting a soul in the crucible of ongoing transformation. Whether discussing public mistakes, artistic vision, or reconstructing identity post-controversy, the conversation is as profound as it is unpredictable—a testament to 5CAST’s ethos of radical openness.

Transcript

[Shia LaBeouf]

Channel 5 news. What's up?

[Andrew]

We made it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, we made it.

[Andrew]

Live from uptown. New Orleans did it less than one week after Mardi Gras, right?

[Shia LaBeouf]

We did it.

[Andrew]

Oh. Exactly one week since Fat Tuesday, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

The fact that you're still talking. Didn't you have a voice problem earlier?

[Andrew]

Yeah, I had a voice problem.

[Shia LaBeouf]

What was the voice problem?

[Andrew]

I've just been touring a lot and just, like, yelling.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Who's touring?

[Andrew]

Just, like, going to different cities and screening documentaries. But when I get on stage, I yell the name of the city. So I'll be like, Orlando.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You should. Yeah.

[Andrew]

So gradually it's faded, but I haven't yelled New Orleans yet. Maybe I could try when we wrap the interview.

[Shia LaBeouf]

All right. Don't do it right now. We gotta talk.

[Andrew]

Okay. Let me know where we're going.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I like this setup, bro. It's so solid, bro. It's holistic.

[Andrew]

Well, bro, thank you for making the time.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andrew]

Appreciate it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Easy.

[Andrew]

I think a lot of people probably saw some of the Mardi Gras media coverage, I understand. Heard about the arrest and stuff.

[Shia LaBeouf]

God bless them.

[Andrew]

Likely want to know how you're doing, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I've been having a time of my life, you know, I got some contrition on my heart, you know? I mean, it's not nice to hurt people ever. It's fucking lame. People got hurt. I gotta deal with that. I'm gonna deal with that. I'm gonna deal with that in full. I'll eat it all. It was on me. It's not on them. It's on me. I fucked up. It's on me. I fucked up. That's on me.

[Andrew]

Definitely.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So you take responsibility for 1,000%.

[Shia LaBeouf]

We're not gonna play games.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

But I had a great time,

[Andrew]

definitely. Just like partying and Mardi Gras.

[Shia LaBeouf]

More than that. Something further than that. Something like sacred, bro. Something like, I just. Joy is sacred, bro. And we're in. I don't know. I keep talking, like, weird, like, because we're. We're cameraed up. So I'm thinking I gotta talk for a big audience. I'm gonna talk for me. Let's start over.

[Andrew]

Click. Start the whole interview over.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Start the interview over, bro.

[Andrew]

All right, we're here. Shia LaBeouf, live, New Orleans, one week after Fat Tuesday. How are you doing? One through ten.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Blessed.

[Andrew]

Okay, so that's a ten?

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's a ten. Yeah, bro. I feel good. I mean, you know, I got. I got an answer for. But overall, I feel good. I came out here heartbroken. I Speak to you now as a man who's filling my heart up.

[Andrew]

How long have you been in New Orleans for?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Fourteen days. Twelve days.

[Andrew]

So did you come down, like, for Mardi Gras or you came down, like, as a plan?

[Shia LaBeouf]

So the fires happened in Pasadena. My dad was in Vietnam. He's got Agent Orange, his whole shit. He can't breathe. So he had to get out of Los Angeles. So when the fires happened, we all evacuated. My pops was like, I'm never going back. Set it up over here. We got family in Appaloosa and Abbeville, Covington, Mandeville. Like, labeoufs are a name out here. They matter out here. You know, there's like, LaBeouf parks and LaBeouf cemeteries. There was three brothers that really mattered out here. Early days. And I kind of never paid attention to it. I had a grandmother who was a lesbian, so she ran off with Ginsburg as a beard in the 50s.

[Andrew]

Ginsburg liked the beat poet from the bay. Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And there was a whole beat thing going on, and she dipped off with them, and then she found herself on some gambling casino. It's a long. Her name was Jacqueline Joy Ginger LeBeouf. She was a friend of Allen Ginsberg. So her family was deeply Catholic out here, and they didn't fuck with her being gay. So she had to move out there and change the spelling of her name. So LaBeouf out here is L, E, B O, E, U, F. And my name is L, A B B E O U, F. And that's because of her. She basically said you to the family out here. Moved to Los Angeles, Venice with Ginsburg. They had a beatnik poet fucking house down there in Santa Monica. And that's where my dad was conceived and born and all that. So his whole. So the Labeoufs, the L, A, B, E, O, U, Fs, the weird spelling. We all grew up in LA. Like, I have a half sister named Michelle. She lives in Utah, and she's married to a Honduran man, Dennis Goodman. They got two beautiful kids who are going to be incredible. Anyway, blah, blah, blah. So it's my. So. So, so two different families. You got the labeoufs for real. The Cajuns for real out here that I'm trying to get to know little by little. I haven't looked at you in a long time. Sorry, bro.

[Andrew]

It's okay, bro. You're deep in thought.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. That's no good, though, huh? I need to look at you more. So let's start there. So what did you ask me even.

[Andrew]

I mean, most importantly, like, how did you get down to New Orleans in the first families?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andrew]

But it was like a permanent move that you're making.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, family. Family on both sides, so. You know what I mean? Heartbreak. Shit didn't work out. Had a dream that I was trying to build in Pasadena. Didn't work out. You know? For what? For my. From. Because of me. And then. So I moved out here, started trying to build something new out here, like a landing pod. It's like an outpost. You're in an outpost right now. This isn't a house yet, it's an outpost. You know, I mean, it's like a. You know what I mean?

[Andrew]

You said heartbreak.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, my God. Yeah, but. You know what I mean? But you got to deal with that. And God puts that on your heart for a reason. And I feel like it's not new heartbreak, you know, it's heartbreak. I don't want to talk too much about it. It's not my story alone to tell, but my side is, you know, I failed my marriage, and so I had to own up to that, and so that's why I had to move out here. So I moved out here and started trying to rebuild. Was having a good time, and then, you know, hit a roadblock right there.

[Andrew]

Where do you think that roadblock began?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I think that roadblock began with cloud chasing.

[Andrew]

In what sense?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm a bright light, G. So. So I come out here, I'm out here and sexy. You know what I mean? So I think. But it's not my. We're gonna get to it. I don't wanna. No, but that's not to diminish on that side either. I fucked up. You know what I mean?

[Andrew]

But you mean, like, cloud chasing is what led to you having an altercation?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Andrew]

Can you break down, like, what happened that led up to that fight?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I was drunk, and then I felt infringed upon. Yeah. Like, in terms of my proximity. But I wasn't in my right mind. And so it's on me.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Just trying to get into the mechanics of how that happens. Because, you know, so much of this story is about you being a public figure and being in the limelight for so long. Anytime you pop out somewhere, especially on the party tip, the first thing people are going to say is, like, let me get a picture, Let me take a video. What was it about these particular interactions, like, at our bar specifically, that, like, made things escalate, you think?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know, bro. I have no idea, bro. I'll be honest with you. It's probably just my fault, bro. Somewhere, I don't know how. Well, I'mma figure it out, dog. You're catching me to this is why this is why this beautiful. I don't know many people be open to this. I don't have answers yet. You know what I mean? I don't have any answers yet. I'm in the middle of it. I'm on, like, I'm on the path, you know? I mean, I don't have answers yet. And usually when people come here, they got answers. I have no answers yet. So I'm in the middle of something. Ask your question one more time, I guess.

[Andrew]

What about this particular infringement on your privacy?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm a Catholic, bro. You know what I mean? I don't. With the God, be careful, help me now. I'm a Catholic.

[Andrew]

What does that have to do with, like, you feel like, how does that connect to that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know. The whole story's not out yet. I don't know what was going on in my head, but it don't matter. I mean, honest, the truth is, I said words not okay to say. I don't want to hurt nobody's feelings. That's what I mean by being. I'm a Catholic, is I'm not supposed to. I'm not supposed to be out here, you know, I'm wrong for what I did is what I'm saying.

[Andrew]

How was the experience of, you know, going to jail and everything like that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

All cute, like, fun, like, whatever, like stupid, like Mardi Gras.

[Andrew]

What was it like at opp?

[Shia LaBeouf]

What's opp?

[Andrew]

Orleans Parish Prison.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, shit. You got all the fucking slick ass names. I don't know, bro. I. I went in there, I was like, hey, let me get a coffee. They're like, shut the fuck up. You know, we don't give you coffees out here, so. But they were all nice to me, bro. I got cold. They gave me a blanket. Nobody was really talking. It was crowded. It was Fat Tuesday, so it was super crowded. And then it got more crowded and more crowded and more crowded. But that was fun. And then it's pretty cute. There was one dude who popped off bad. But nothing. Nothing, nothing. Nothing really. Nothing really.

[Andrew]

How many people were in the drunk tank on Fat Tuesday?

[Shia LaBeouf]

On Fat Tuesday, it was probably where I was. There's probably 50 of us.

[Andrew]

I'm sure everybody recognized you though, right?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, but everybody's good, bro. Everybody's easy, you know what I mean? They know what it is. Really? They know already?

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

My baggage kind of lands before I get there kind of thing. Usually everywhere.

[Andrew]

Tell me you shared a blanket in there, though.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, we did. We shared a blanket because we. There's 50 of us, so there's only so many blank. But, yeah, me and this one. Yeah. Yeah, we shared a blanket. He was, you know. Yeah, we talked. He was a good guy, actually. He was. So usually when you get processed, you become friends with whoever you're getting processed with. Just. Just the innate reality of meeting somebody before you meet everybody else.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And so the guy I got process with became sort of a quick buddy. Just. We didn't even talk. I don't know much about him, but just like, one fisherman could see another fisherman from afar kind of thing. And we had that kind of connection. And then. Yeah, black kid, shared blanket. And we also shared meals. Like, we. We got it quite intimate, actually. Was his name. I don't remember. Was his name. I don't remember. Older cat. I don't know what his name was. William. William, if you're out there, go ahead.

[Andrew]

What was the charge?

[Shia LaBeouf]

They ended up hitting you with the char. I got two misdemeanor battery charges, but they might up it to something, whatever. I know they got a da, Very liberal da, who knows what goes on, you know, But I know there's a guy out there, thinks it's hate charges, you know, I'll live with whatever goes on, you know, it is what it is. Yeah, yeah. God bless them all, you know?

[Andrew]

Have they told you, like, what the penalty might be for something like that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

There's, like, a battery charge. I think you go do six months and hate charge would be more than that. I don't know. Whatever. I don't know what it is, I gotta do whatever it is. I'll do whatever it is. It was no good, bro. My behavior's dirty, ugly, disgusting, so I gotta eat it, you know?

[Andrew]

I know that whenever we first started talking, it was kind of on, like, the program tip in the AA recovery world.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, that's when we met.

[Andrew]

How long were you sober for?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I had, like, nine months. I think I had done kava. You know what kava is?

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, like the Polynesian version of beer. But it's not alcoholic.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's kava. It's called. It's like some root drink, some kava. So some kava shop opened up in Pasadena. I started drinking kava, like, probably nine months ago. So my sobriety ended there. Nine months. So I had nine months and. But that was, you know, nine months ago. So I've been off for nine months, like, out of it, searching in and out, you know, putting it down, picking it up, reading books, sponsorship, all of it.

[Andrew]

I'm more just wondering, like, before, in general, like, what was the longest sustained period of sobriety?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Two years, probably two years. I was probably sober for a year before the birth of my daughter into a year of my daughter's birth. And then life became life, and then kava.

[Andrew]

Damn. Yeah, so kava was the gateway to more like regular bevs.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Kava was an acceptance of, like. I had heard people talk about California sobriety and stuff like this, and it started floating around the rooms and like that. You know, I'm not gonna say his name, but, you know, some people that I know and was doing camping trips and stuff, dudes are talking about ayahuasca, spiritual journeys and, like, that. We're talking about deep, you know, like, how to get to God and stuff like that. Joe Rogan, you know, you just get. You just get flooded with a whole bunch of info, you know, as a sober man. Then it was like, I remember being on a road trip with a kid. You know, we wound up in Barstow or something like that. Went to an AA meeting, and one of the guys that was in the meeting was. Ah, I shouldn't have said. I said it again. Hey, bear with me, bro. You know what I mean? I'm not on the wagon at all. And so everybody who with that. Don't. I don't. Bam. You know what I mean? I don't claim it. I don't want to hurt your. What you got going on, you know? I know there's people that depended on me and people that look to me to be some kind of sobriety stability, and like, some pillar of this. I'm just a man. I'm trying to find it and. Elior, hold on. Good. You get me, so let's get. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's not. It's not like that. So. So the. That hurts in terms. Now, in terms of my sobriety is the guys that were under me, that I was sponsoring, that depended on me, and their lives were in precarious spots that I was sponsoring that I'm going to deal with, you know what I mean? That hurts the worst, you know? I mean, if you ever been in this thing, you know what sponsor and sponsorship is, and it's a big responsibility, and there's a lot to deal with, bro, A lot to deal with. I'm going to Be honest with you, man. And this is crazy stuff to say out loud, I guess, but I need to say it out loud is, bro, I grew up in these rooms, you know, so I've probably run a program since I'm 18 or something like that. In and out, in and out, in and out. Longest I ever had probably this two year clip, but it wasn't the best part of my life. And this is what I'm dealing with out here is like, I don't really know how to get to joy and run program, like, as rigid as they run it. And the deeper. And this is not excuses, but the deeper in the program you get, you wind up in Catholicism, you know?

[Andrew]

So you feel like the restrictive nature of traditional recovery often leads you into a religious box?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I feel like the restrictive nature of recovery leads you into unhappiness because. Because it's rigid and you feel like

[Andrew]

you're missing out on something.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And there's a mysticism, there's a mystery that's inherent to health because you feel

[Andrew]

like the rigid nature of it makes you feel like you're depriving yourself of something.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

And that would be the breadth of human experience.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Which is joy.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Which is not just joy. I know program dudes that experience the joy. I'm talking about. I remember how it came first in. First came in. There's a different kind of joy I'm talk. Talking about. I'm talking about a different kind of unhinged, maniacal joy. I'm not talking about giggles or, like. I'm talking about freedom. I'm talking about complete. So like something like a existential. Like a. Something further than just like, giggle, like

[Andrew]

the normie joy, like flying on the highway.

[Shia LaBeouf]

What? Yeah.

[Andrew]

On a motorcycle.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, further.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Further than that. I'm further than that is what Mardi Gras is.

[Andrew]

So it's like a chaos therapy.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, it's. Can I read something to you?

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You fuck with GK Chesterton.

[Andrew]

I don't know who he is, but I sound like.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I sound like. So GK Chesterton. This is big OG stuff. Yeah, He's a real bandito in this thing. Yeah, go, go. Do whatever. Do whatever you want in terms of this Christian shit. He's real bandido, this guy Chesterton. Let me read this to you. Yeah. And it speaks to me. Mysticism keeps men sane. I'm not trying to be dramatic yet. I heard some motherfucker say I was performative today. You know, it bothered me.

[Andrew]

Doesn't seem like it to me, man.

[Shia LaBeouf]

All right. Here we go. Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery, you have health. When you destroy mystery, you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. And I feel like that guy, like, I feel like I want to encourage the luminosity, bro. I'm out here to fucking get it. It's Mardi Gras.

[Channel 5 Announcer]

Hey, what's up, guys?

[Andrew]

This is not an advertisement, by the way, but did you hear that about

[Channel 5 Announcer]

a year ago we bought back our old show, All Gas, no breaks, remember? From 2019 to 2020, my first show, we bought it back. As well as the entire catalog of unreleased All Gas no Brakes episodes.

[Andrew]

If you're my friend and you come visit me in the RV, do not take a shit.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Ms. 13 is actually the biggest piece of shit I've ever met.

[Andrew]

And guess what?

[Channel 5 Announcer]

We are currently on tour right now going across the country screening OG and new All Gas no Brakes material and screening some never before seen Channel 5 documentaries that I think you'd like to see. So if you want to come to our C5 carnival, which is a hybrid all gas channel 5 screening with a talent show and a rap battle embedded

[Andrew]

inside of it,

[Channel 5 Announcer]

You should definite buy a ticket right now at www.channel5.news. It's called the C5 Carnival. We're going to Boston tonight at the Chevalier Theater. We're going to Detroit tomorrow to Royal Oak Theater which is I think in Warren or somewhere past 8 mile upstate. And then past that. We're going to so many different cities. If you live in Madison, Wisconsin, St. Paul, Minnesota, Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah again, Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tacoma, Washington, Los Angeles, California San Francisco, California Portland, Oregon Austin, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado Vancouver, B.C. atlanta, Georgia El Paso, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, San Diego, California or Albuquerque, New Mexico. You too can see the return All Gas no Breaks episodes and the new Channel 5 secret documentary. And also maybe you can be in the talent show. Hope to catch you guys on tour again. Www.channel5news. A night to remember. A night to never miss. A carnival of sorts, I'd say.

[Andrew]

Would you?

[Shia LaBeouf]

See you there.

[Andrew]

Ah, shit. I done fucked up and forgot to tell people that. I'm also going to Pittsburgh. When you're in that like state, that like mystic party state, do you feel true joy?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I feel connected, you know. I mean, I feel connected to people. I take a bunch of pictures like a fucking like I'm a golden retriever or a governor or something like that. Because I like what it does for people's lives. Remember trying to get Mike Piaza's autograph, you know what I mean? For my whole life, Mike Piaza, were

[Andrew]

you waiting outside the fence every day?

[Shia LaBeouf]

This guy, bro. So, yeah, we used to go to Dodger games. Big brother's program used to get these tickets. Out you go, Dodger game. Me and all of them dudes be sitting in the parking lot. Brent Butler always signed Hideo Nomo. Always signed Mike Piaza.

[Andrew]

Just a cold heart.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Piazza, you're a brother.

[Andrew]

How many times do you think he rejected signing up?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Every day, bro. I did it for. I used to go out there 90 times. Probably rejected me 90 times. So what it did was, oh, I'm gonna sign them all. So when I got on, it was like, yo, Mike Piazza.

[Andrew]

So you don't turn down any pictures?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Never, Never ever. Not unless I'm with my kid or I'm eating some food or I'm chasing some ass.

[Andrew]

Because you feel like you're helping people. Validating.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. What did God do it for? Why did he do it? Why did he do this to me? You know what I mean? What is the purpose, bro? Like, why did he do this for you, Andrew?

[Andrew]

In terms of giving me that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

In terms of. Yeah, why did God do it, bro? What did he do? Why? All right, so shut up for a second. What are you good at, Andrew? Being Andrew? Doing this. I'm good at this thing that I do. Yeah. All right, okay, we got that. What can you do with that? What you're good at. What can you do? That's the arithmetic. What are you good at? All right now. How can you help people with that? So I take pictures of people because that shit helped their day, maybe. Motherfucker's like, hey, man, can't make my tax season. Hey, my mom's diabetic, but who knows, bro? You don't know what people's problems are, you know? Just crashed my car. I was jogging the other day. I was jogging. Dude couldn't believe I was in the street, which I was flattered by. But then he crashed his car into a pole, and I thought, oh, my God, bro. You know? Yeah. How you help that guy?

[Andrew]

How much of your life have you been living like this for, in terms of people taking pictures with you? Like, living as a public figure. Did it start when you were 18, or was it younger than that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Man, I was on Even Steven's was, like, popping hard. If you were a broke Kid, in America, everybody watched Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. You know what I mean? It was like everybody would just sit home and watch that thing. So I grew up with everybody. We all grew up together, and that's what it is. So I know what that is. It'd be like me running into Will Smith. Give me a picture. I grew up with you. You owe it to me. You're my uncle.

[Andrew]

That's how I feel about Will Smith, too.

[Shia LaBeouf]

He's my fucking uncle, bro. It doesn't matter what he. I don't give a. This my uncle Will, like everybody else in America, don't act, play. You know, it's just what it. So I'm in this weird category of I have this familiarity with people, and yet I'm trying to do this artist thing. And yet. But it's deeper than that because it's like family. You meet people, they don't give a. About art. People just want to hug you because you're. They're your cousin.

[Andrew]

In a weird way, it kind of goes back to something you mentioned earlier, which is like, you know, there are people who, like, cross boundaries. As a public figure, then you also want to please people.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So how do you walk that line?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, you got to be authentic or, you know, otherwise you go to hell. Which, you know, I don't want to speak too much about it, but I know intimately about people around me, you know, I mean, got to keep it authentic, I think. And I think, you know, Robin Hood kind of. I don't know. I've always been kind of. I don't know, man. Maybe it's like I got this gray goose sneaker soul. Does it make sense?

[Andrew]

No.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Do you know what gray goose sneaker is? No. I just. Fake dirty. Fake dirty sneaker.

[Andrew]

They're kind of like.

[Shia LaBeouf]

They're like really wealthy fake, dirty sneakers.

[Andrew]

No, I didn't know about this.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know. Something about it feels too close to home for me to ever wear, but so intrinsically true. I grew up poor, and then I got rich as early. You know, rich to me was 8,000 a week, which is what I was getting paid on Even Stevens. That's crazy stupid money, bro. Yeah, you're rich. So for me, I never thought about money again. After 8,000 a week, I thought, I am balling. Everybody quit their jobs. Everybody got houses. So that changes, alters your perspective. You grew up in Echo Park, Echo park before that. And then we couldn't afford to stay in Echo Park. When the riots happened, Echo park changed. The police force dissolved. There Was a whole Rampart Division Police. The whole Echo Park I knew, disappeared, and it was replaced by Echo Park.

[Andrew]

Now hipsters.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm not gonna say nothing, but it's different. And it lost whatever was there before. And there's a pocket. But a lot of us moved to Boyle Heights. A lot of us moved to Bakersfield. A lot of us moved to Tuhunga, Sunland, Reseda. If you had a little scratch, you made the Burbank, you know, that was like Beverly Hills for the people that got push out of Echo Park. And so. So we went to Baker. We went to Bakersfield first. And then my dad was in T hatchapy. He had to go to pri. That's why we were in Bakersfield. My dad went to Tehachapy for a while. My mom was selling fabric out of Bakersfield, made some scratch, moved us closer. We wound up in Sunland to Hunga. And that's where I sort of grew up there. Like from nine to getting on eight to nine.

[Andrew]

So it really was like a luck of the draw thing or just talent randomly?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I won the lottery. What the is talent, Andrew? I won the lottery. Lottery, fool. I won the comp. I completely won the lottery, dude. I won the lottery. I want to scratch off. It's like that. It's like I want to scratch off lottery. There's no such thing as talent at all. Do you believe in talent?

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Tell me.

[Andrew]

I think as an interviewer, like, listening is a talent, but I do look back at certain things.

[Shia LaBeouf]

That's a skill.

[Andrew]

Okay, so talent would be like juggling or.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Which is also a skill.

[Andrew]

Being able to exhale for two minutes

[Shia LaBeouf]

straight, which is also a skill.

[Andrew]

So then by that criteria, I guess there's no talents.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Correct. There's only push ups.

[Andrew]

So the Even Stevens thing just hit random?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, it didn't hit random. I was prepared for the moment. My dad was a hustler. He was taking me to comedy clubs all the time. I was talking shit to adults all the time. When I got to meet a casting director, I knew how to talk shit to adults.

[Andrew]

So you kind of were molded by your upbringing to be in position to do something.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I did enough push ups.

[Andrew]

And you said you first got into the rooms around 18?

[Shia LaBeouf]

The AA rooms?

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, my dad grew up in the room. I learned how to smoke cigarettes in AA rooms. My dad was an AA when I was. Before I ever got on. My dad was a junkie my whole life. So then. And God bless him, the fool ain't no more. For real? Yeah. He's clean. I'm not. G shit, bro. G. Shit. Go ahead, dad.

[Andrew]

What do you think has been like behind your decision to get sober every now and again?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Usually I've been forced to get sober by the court system. Usually. And then women get scared, you know, so then you gotta stay sober for the girl.

[Andrew]

So you feel like most of your decision to like lay off the drinks was external factors.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. The business, the job, holding on to the career, holding on to the girl, holding on to family, holding on to fear and all this people around you. You know what it is when the walls close in, you just want to calm it down. So you make a bunch of decisions that are inauthentic because you just want to calm everything down.

[Andrew]

Especially when you provide for other people.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Especially when you're the racehorse. Yeah, for sure. Then you gotta. Then it's. Then it's more than that, you know what I mean?

[Andrew]

I just noticed my personal experience, like when you're going through a super hard time, it's really best to put the beds down.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Because when you're drinking to cope with sadness, oftentimes it can spiral into something deeper. Yeah. Because you're just delaying processing of those sad feelings for a long time. And eventually you're gonna get to that brick wall where you're like, I gotta face this shit.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. And I understand the context with which you said it. And also like the assumption one makes when a man gets divorced and is publicly sober and then publicly drunk and then fighting people in the street, getting arrested, trying to come back, trying to earn the bureaucratic Hollywood, trying to get back on all of these things that are just kind of things that don't really matter. Just kind of these floating things that are kind of. Who gives a about all this?

[Andrew]

I mean, I guess the only man only matters if you care about it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Here's what. Here's what I care about my daughter. I care about my daughter. And I was in a situation with. I can't speak too much about it. We were deeply unhappy, bro. We had a lot of resentment. I made a lot of like mistakes early on. Look at this ladybug. I made a lot of mistakes. Oh, shit, A dead ladybug. What's that? No, she's alive.

[Andrew]

She's still alive. She's been through a little bit here.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Made a lot of mistakes early on. Before we tried to have baby. I had violated trust in a big, big way. And then we tried to use program, albeit one sided, to try to fix it and it was impossible. And we both became Very unhappy. And it's not good to be unhappy around a baby. It's not good to be unhappy around kids. But yet it's important to be proximate. You must be around. And this became quite a weird Tetris. You understand?

[Andrew]

Yeah. The person you're with is pushing you to do program.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No sir. No, no, no, no, no, no. I loved program for a very long time. And yet I am a big God boy. You know, I'm a big. I'm big and I found God through program. So I don't know. I'm on a circuitous path. My path isn't over. I'm still in the middle of it. But I'm on the path. You know what I mean? I'm not just out here being debaucherous. I don't know if I'm drinking on your Channel 5 Cool, let's get it type of. Or if I'm drinking that because I like want something to drink right now or if I want to be drunk. I don't know why I'm drinking that right now. I can't tell you why. And the truth is I'm so. I don't give a no more. You know. I'm just like. I'm done with the self analytical. It doesn't bring happiness.

[Andrew]

In terms of deep introspection about every

[Shia LaBeouf]

time I think about me, I'm unhappy.

[Andrew]

Like thinking about yourself.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I think it's true all around. I think it's a. I think it's just true. Every time a person thinks about themselves, they're unhappy.

[Andrew]

Oh, I know what you mean.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Sitting just self reflection. All this naval gate. You're just going to be unhappy. This helps me just like get out on town.

[Andrew]

Externalize, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I just it all. I'm no longer no Shia LaBeouf celebrity. Hold on to this thing. Worry about the next job, kid. None of that. I just go out and I go listen to music. Feels good right now. And I'm not hurting nobody. There's two, three people that are hurt. I'm a deal with that. God bless you guys. That's my fault. I'm a deal with you on me. But. But that's three the amount of interactions I've had in Mardi Gras, bro. I must have met 20000 people. 20000 good interactions and three bad interactions. I'm gonna sign up for it. Still. It's like playing blackjack at a casino. I see you making uncomfortable moves.

[Andrew]

No, no, no.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Okay, go. All right.

[Andrew]

No, but I'm thinking like you know you're going to jail for fighting when you're out drinking. Is that not a wake up call of like, like, damn, dude.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Like, nah, because it wasn't a bro. I'm not a fighter, bro. These people are clout chasers.

[Andrew]

But I'm saying going to jail, like, have you thought, like, damn, maybe if I wasn't drinking that wouldn't happen?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Like gives a though. It's another experience.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Jail will be another adventure.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

What are you gonna do? That's cool.

[Andrew]

That's like the Hunter S. Thompson viewpoint.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Who gives a. Yeah, I'm with God, bro. I just move with God. God's gonna move me around.

[Andrew]

Yeah. And you feel like you found God through aa?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Whenever they talked about the higher power, I always put it as like my inner child, like my 8 year old self, like full of curiosity, who never even thought I'd be at a bar until six in the morning, you know, it's like, imagine him watching you doing what you're doing. You're gonna call the same guy again at 7 in the morning.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

You know, like that kid would be like, what do you mean? You have a successful YouTube channel, you support your mom, go get some sleep. And like that ended up sort of being like my big homie was my little self. I know for some people can be like a God thing.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I like that.

[Andrew]

Yeah. You think God's like a monotheistic singular deity?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Do I? Yeah. Yeah. I believe in the Trinitarian church. Yeah. I'm a Catholic, full blown. Yeah.

[Andrew]

I got baptized Catholic. I just haven't really followed it much.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I get it. And if I had probably come up like you, I'd probably shuck and jive too. You know what I mean? I didn't come up that way. I came up with. My dad was in the Mongols, my mom was a hippie, we had no God in the house. We had a whole bunch of religious art. My mom loved art, so I had a whole bunch of Caravaggios and shit in the house. We loved art, but we never read the Bible or nothing like that. And then I got, I got Bar Misfit. I wasn't into that shit at all.

[Andrew]

Big Internet lore is also that you're like down from a hood in LA.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's true.

[Andrew]

Can you elaborate?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Harpy's 13. My key holder is conejo. It happened through a film. I was prepping a movie. I asked if I could. He told me what the requirements were. I said yes. We love each other, all of us. We are all most of Us fathers, most of us are trying to live good lives. Most of us are God led.

[Andrew]

Did you have to get, like, jumped in or anything?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Nothing silly like that. No. Come on. When I joined, it was sort of. I was 36, and it was like they had already done all the rowdy for so many years that I'm kind of the T shirt salesman.

[Andrew]

And that was when you were filming for that role as Creeper, right? Yeah. Hell, yeah. I always thought that this was big hazard. The hood that made pcp.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, no, no, that's Harpies.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I guess you wouldn't get jumped into a gang at 36.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I mean. Yeah, we talked about it, but then he was like, this is ridiculous, you know?

[Andrew]

Yeah. So if you went to jail in California, you'd have to run Southsider.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

But here at the Mardi Gras, run tank. Just gotta run shy LaBeouf.

[Shia LaBeouf]

To be honest with you, bro, it's love all around. It just. It is all that other. Like, I'm not pushing no line in California neither. I'm child above, bro. I was in Holes. The fuck are we talking about? Like, really, who's pushing what? Like, what are we talking about? You know, I mean, but I am friends with these people. We do love each other. Their shit is for real. They really do push the line. Am I pushing the line? No, you're not expected to. No, no. What. What kind of clique would they be if they did? You'd be.

[Andrew]

I mean, there's a lot of ridiculous.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No bros, everybody. They were good before I met them.

[Andrew]

Would you say Holes is one of your favorite movies that you did?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Just the first. I mean, I love Cleo very much so. I made a good friend there. He's a good boy.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

I like disturb you.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. That's another one I made, you know, I made. I didn't make no friends there. Golly, what is this interview, bro? I'm gonna get in trouble anyway, so who cares? It.

[Andrew]

Fuck it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. God help me.

[Andrew]

You mentioned heartbreak is a major thing

[Shia LaBeouf]

in my life in general. Not now, but. Yeah. I mean, that's what brought me out here for sure. That's what motivated the move. Yeah, I'm out there now, but I was there when I came out, you know, I mean, when I was first buying this crib and all that. Yep. That was about four, three months ago. Yeah.

[Andrew]

I mean, one of the hard parts about being a public figure of your stature is like, all of your personal life is in the media. Good, bad and ugly. I thought you did a Pretty good job on the Jon Bernthal podcast.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrew]

By addressing that kind of pipeline that you had from controversy to, I guess, sobriety and getting serious about your life, figuring out what behavior patterns put you in the position to be in positions like the ones that got written about, significantly looking back at that whole chapter, you know, as far as the major controversy and everything like that two or three years ago, how do you look back in the rearview?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Twigs and all that? Yeah, yeah, bro. She's a good girl, bro. That's a good girl.

[Andrew]

But looking back in the rearview, do you feel like working the program after that helps you kind of rectify?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Nah, because the program, you know, sometimes when you get arrested, the court just says, hey, you got to go do this or that to, like, mitigate charges, you know? So they force you to do, like, rehab and, like, go to, you know, anger management. So, like, that's not what the issue with me and her was. The issue with me and her had to do with jealousy and manipulation and some stuff she talked about and some stuff that, you know. You know, I mean, but that's my fault too, right there, you know? I mean, that's on me, too. That's not on her. That's on me. That's a good girl. She's a fucking incredible artist, bro. Pay attention to her work. She's amazing.

[Andrew]

When you say it's on you, like, whatever.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Whatever she said, run with most of it.

[Andrew]

Were you able to work some of that stuff out behind closed doors?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, I mean, it really comes down to, you know what I mean?

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah. Because America is, like, a lot of times, built on exile, you know, and, like, carceral methods of, like, when someone does something wrong. A lot of times the standard is, like, banish them from public life. Banish them how? That's just how. That's kind of the way I get.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I wish you could leave me the fuck alone. You mean, put me in the banish spot? Let me party, dude. Let me go there.

[Andrew]

But I guess the idea is, like, you know, you mentioned earlier, like, when you go to jail, you took responsibility for it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So it's like when you mess up when you're drunk and you do something wrong, you hurt somebody. What is the path to restitution? Is it, like, living, you know, in the proper way to minimize that in the future? Or is it, like, taking actionable steps behind closed doors to, like, rectify that shit?

[Shia LaBeouf]

You gotta make amends. First thing you gotta do is you gotta say what you did. Then you gotta say how it's never gonna happen again. And then you gotta show improve.

[Andrew]

What do you think's the best way to like show improve after something like that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Something like which?

[Andrew]

Just anything. Like going to jail, Getting which part? I guess we could go one by one. There you go with the twigs thing.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Twitch thing. So one way you can never run into that again is, you know, be straight up with people right away when the relationship isn't working out, walk away.

[Andrew]

And then as far as the situation with like bar fights and shit, how would you minimize that in the future?

[Shia LaBeouf]

With bar fights and shit, how you minimize that in the future? Boy, you got me. Wait a second. I got a better answer. Give me a second. Okay, cool. I had a real. Look how smart I was right here, bro. I look like a scholar right here with my. Look how I did it right here. Wait, look at this shape. Well, you do look. Okay, stop for a second. Let me, let me think for a second. Look at the shape though. I look like I'm thinking, huh? Look, I'm thinking hard as, bro. Oh my God, I'm thinking so hard. What was the question?

[Andrew]

Well, it's like the whole thing is like, you know, if you're going to keep staying out, partying, having, having fun.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Probably going to want to like create almost a harmony.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Here's the truth. Here's the truth. Here's the truth. On Mardi Gras, everybody's got motivations. On Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras. God bless these dudes. I'm sorry it happened. Mardi Gras, they want to make it an extra thing. I understand. Go ahead, bro.

[Andrew]

Get.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Go ahead, go ahead, get it. Go, go, go, go.

[Andrew]

Well, just think, right, like if you're gonna stay out and keep doing this,

[Shia LaBeouf]

look here, here's my. Here's my truth. I. I'm around. I'm in the street all day. Yeah. I'm outside all day long. All day long. Before Mardi Gras, after Mardi Gras, I'm outside all day long. This city is love, bro. I get no weirdo from no weird. There's no, there's not an ounce, not a smidgen of any weirdo out here with me walking around. It's love. Non stop love. It's non stop love from both sides.

[Andrew]

You feel like it's different in LA in that way.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, LA's love too, bro. I'm. I'm like Will Smith. I'm like an uncle dog. Yeah. So I just move around. It's love everywhere. I don't get love. I get love pretty much everywhere. The minute I get into trouble is with a very. A person who is after something.

[Andrew]

After what kind of thing? Like inciting a reaction.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I am an opportunity sometimes to someone. That's not to minimize my behavior, but I get it. I'm bright as when I walk around and I get. Listen if you're like a Twigs fan or something like. I don't know, bro. I have no idea, bro. It's not my business. It's not my business. Here's what I know. I can only deal with my side. My side. Is this my behavior, My. I gotta deal with that. Does that mean I gotta go to rehab again? I'm just not into it, bro. I don't think my answers are there. I don't. I really. I genuinely don't. If I genuinely did, I'd go. I don't think I have a drinking problem. I think I have a different problem and I'm gonna address it.

[Andrew]

What's that problem?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I think I have a small man complex. Some kind of Napoleonic. I don't know what it is. I think it's something that has to do with anger and. And ego more so than my drinking. But that's where I'm at now on my journey and I'm trying to navigate it. I'll figure it out.

[Andrew]

What kind of things set off that anger?

[Shia LaBeouf]

What kind of things set off that anger? I mean, boy, I haven't experienced for a while. But I'll be honest with you. Big gay people are scary to me.

[Andrew]

What do you mean?

[Shia LaBeouf]

When I'm like standing by myself and three gay dudes are next to me touching my leg, I get scared. I'm sorry. If that's homophobic, then I. Then I'm. That.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Does that happen a lot?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, it just happened one time recently. Well, that's why I'm Got arrested. Okay. Yeah.

[Andrew]

So you were sort of being groped and surrounded.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm not gonna say that because my lawyer said. Oh, dude, it's okay.

[Andrew]

It's okay. It's okay. We can.

[Channel 5 Announcer]

I.

[Andrew]

Here.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I. I am wrong for touching anyone ever. And that's the end of my statement on this whole shit.

[Andrew]

Sounds good.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Cool.

[Andrew]

Moving back to, like, what kind of things would set off that Napoleon complex?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Being challenged. My masculinity being challenged. Me touching my girl or touch my kid or. You know, I'm good with gay. Be gay over there, though. Don't be gay in my lap.

[Andrew]

So you feel like when things that you feel that you possess in a way are challenged like your girl, your kid. If someone gets in the way of what they want to do.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, if somebody. Yeah, there's personal space type stuff, you know, which gets weird. It's Mardi Gras. That's why, bro, I was drunk and it's Mardi Gras, so all of. Everything I'm saying is nonsense. It's Mardi Gras, you know, but it

[Andrew]

sounds like this complex is maybe something that you noticed for a long time.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I mean, maybe, bro. I mean, my. My dad. My dad was raped by his cousin, so he was in my ear all the time. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I am. Who the fuck knows, bro? I'm open to whatever somebody wants to say. It didn't feel like that when it happened. Look, and this is the worst thing to say, and I'm not gonna say it. I've never had no problem with gay people. Never. I remember paying for people's, like, transition surgery when I was around the Internet. Heavy. I've never been adversarial towards it, you know what I mean? But I don't know. I'm open to whatever. If somebody's got more information on the subject, then, you know, let me know. I know I'm deep off into the Bible. I know what the Bible says about homosexuality.

[Andrew]

What does it say? Nah, that's what it says. Yeah, but wasn't that written a really long time ago, Bro, you could do

[Shia LaBeouf]

whatever you want with the text. It's not my business, you know, I'm a traditional Catholic. That's okay.

[Andrew]

What's the difference between a traditional Catholic and, let's say, a more progressive Christian?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I really. I really.

[Andrew]

With the Bible, you believe in hell and stuff?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Who do you think's down there?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Who's down there?

[Andrew]

Martin Luther, the man who wrote the Protestant.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Martin Luther's there? Yeah.

[Andrew]

He's got the special haircut.

[Shia LaBeouf]

He's gone.

[Andrew]

That fool's gone for denying the divinity of the Pope.

[Shia LaBeouf]

There's a whole lot. We could talk about this. There'll be whole rest of the interview. I don't want to do that either. I'm not Mel Gibson. I'm not trying to be out here doing that either. God bless you. I love you, too. I'm not that guy either. I'm not angry with my Christianity like that. I just really believe in what I believe in. I'm not trying to proselytize nobody. Not trying to hold no traditional Catholic line. I'm not some fucking weirdo like that tight ass fucking. None of that, bro. I'm on my relationship. I'm in a full blown love affair with Jesus. And I believe what I believe.

[Andrew]

One thing you did mention earlier was the certain type of person that creates confrontation when they see you for whatever reason. Maybe they bring up controversy, they want to film you, they want to heckle you. Do you find that that is oftentimes a trigger for you to be like, yo, get the out of my face.

[Shia LaBeouf]

God's involved, bro. I'm learning my lessons, you know, I mean, I'm on my path. These people that was involved in this, there's growth that needs to happen and, and through them it will. That's how I look at life, you know, I mean, they're, they, they're a blessing to me. I'm about to learn whatever lessons I'm about to learn. I don't know how long I have to sit, but I'll learn lessons there. This is God. God's involved.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

That's why I'm not like bumming out about it or nothing like that. Like, I'm really. I feel like I'm on the path.

[Andrew]

So you feel like even when things go wrong, there's a higher power trying to teach you something?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I learn more when things go wrong, that's for sure. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Yeah. So you think struggle breeds wisdom?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Have you always found that to be true? Yeah. You feel like the most prosperous times in your life are the times where you remain spiritually stagnant, sort of blind? Yeah, yeah. What do you think was the most like, blind, prosperous era of your life?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, it'd be like these, these Michael Bay days, bro. Be like, hey, I'm about to see you, motherfucker. Let's go. Go Michael Bay cold. Yeah. Be them days, be them around them, them days. But we love each other deeply, you know, I mean, I met him in a wild time in my life. I love him very much, you know, and we, you know, we got unfinished business. Yeah, yeah.

[Andrew]

You mentioned the rehab thing earlier. Obviously, I follow the news and you saw your ex wife said that you're. You should be in rehab.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You gotta say what you got to say, bro. Save faith, let her live. That's a good girl. That's one of the best girls that ever lived. She's incredible, that woman. Incredible. That's an incredible woman.

[Andrew]

Is that a relationship that you think you want to repair?

[Shia LaBeouf]

She's incredible. Mia Goth, incredible all time. 10 out of 10.

[Andrew]

So your long term plan would be

[Shia LaBeouf]

to repair that, Repair nothing. We're good as is. What you mean? Girl?

[Andrew]

I just read that you Guys divorced.

[Shia LaBeouf]

That's true. Yeah. But we're in a good spot. I mean, this isn't new. See, this is the thing. It's new for you guys. We've been there for a while and we're trying to figure out co parenting, and we're good. She's a good girl. Even through all this. Like, she gives me grace. I still talk to my kid twice a day. She's a good woman, bro.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Any other woman would be like, yo, you get out of here. I want to talk to you. She don't do that to me. I'm on my phone with my kid twice a day, you know, Even when things are hanky. She's a good woman. That's a great woman.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I grew up with co parenting my whole life, so. So it was great because they had a functional relationship. Like you said, when you argue around the kid, it's terrible.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Terrible. So we're trying to build something else, you know, and we're gonna get. We're there. My kid is happy, dog. My kid is fucking.

[Andrew]

How old are they?

[Shia LaBeouf]

She's three.

[Andrew]

So just now getting to that age where she sort of has figured out what's going on.

[Shia LaBeouf]

She knows Daddy's rolling stone. She knew that for a while. And she knows Mommy's a rolling stone too, in her way. She got cool parents.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Gonna be a cool kid.

[Andrew]

That's for sure, dude.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Do you envision a world one day where there's gonna be, like, split custody type of deal?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, we don't talk about that. We're good about that type of stuff. It's just like, they're getting ready. She gonna film in France. I gotta film in April, so I got some time where I'm gonna run out there and go be dad for a minute while Mommy's got a film, and that's. We're in a circus. We're the circus family.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I forget. You guys probably gotta travel for work a lot. I did week on, week off my whole life.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. Okay. Well, you wound up pretty solid, bro. Look at you. Thank you, bro.

[Andrew]

Six cameras. Six cameras.

[Shia LaBeouf]

How many of us, bro? Huh?

[Andrew]

Six cameras. Come on, bro. It's like variety in this bit.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You fucking did it.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. So I'm not tripping on that, too. I got guidance there, you know? I mean, I'm. I'm really a church kid, bro. People don't know that, but I'm so. I got so much support. That's why I don't feel so. I don't feel alone. I'M about to. So I'm about to. You know they got St. Francis's bones on display for the first time ever in the history of life.

[Andrew]

No way. Here in New Orleans?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, no, in Rome.

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah, dude.

[Shia LaBeouf]

All right.

[Andrew]

I forgot. You went from here.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, fucking. He's playing Assisi, so my dad's about to get baptized on Sunday, if the court lets me go. Yeah, I'm going to a cc.

[Andrew]

Oh, so is the court, like, keeping you here?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, I gotta stay. Oh, no, I'm on bond. Yeah, I'm on bond right now.

[Andrew]

Wait, so you're out on bail?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know what it is. They told me I'm on bond.

[Andrew]

Yeah, it's your out of bail.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Okay, then you said it. And then I gotta take my shotgun in there in the morning, can't have a gun, can't be on drugs, can't be in no around, and can't leave the country.

[Andrew]

How much was the bond?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know. I have no idea. What happened?

[Andrew]

Did somebody bail you out?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I have no idea, bro. I haven't. I know Thundercat tried to get it going. Steven and me are very close. I know him from school. He tried to send his people out. I love you very much. That's a good man. Cudi did the same thing. So I had these assistants. I didn't know these names of these people, but they showed up at the court of the jail trying to get me out. And then the. The bailiff or the jailer was like, hey, do you know Stacy or Shirley? And I didn't know none of these people. So she said, should I just tell him to go? She did. And then I just left on my own. I don't know who paid for what. I know that there's. Somebody told me there's like a. I'm not reading none of it, but, bro, there's a lot of clout chasing going on in this, you know what I mean?

[Andrew]

Like, people trying to take credit for.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Bro, let him live, bro. God bless them. Good people. Good people.

[Andrew]

So you got out of jail, like, not even knowing who paid the bond?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I don't know. I don't know what it is. No.

[Andrew]

And what'd you do when you're first fresh?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I went right back to the French Quarter. It was about to be the Zulu parade. Come on, dude. It's the. It's the parade.

[Andrew]

Did I say you had papers in hand?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, I was ready to get it. What do you mean? You can't have half a Mardi Gras

[Andrew]

what is it about Mardi Gras in New Orleans that you love?

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's existential. It's almost spiritual. If you're in the position I'm in as a Cajun man who's been exiled from his family, who's finding. Who has blood in the soil, who's fully connected to this place and have never really explored it, who's been on a fucking leash for a long time, who is a wild man at heart. You wind up in Mardi Gras. It becomes a spiritual experience, bro. It's sacred. It's sacred. If you. If you go in. Yeah, I'm not going to go deep off into that, but there's.

[Andrew]

I think you should, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I knew some Lakotas deeply. I knew some Lakota. I had spent some time in North Dakota for a long time. There was a. A girl I knew who was the daughter of Chief Red Cloud, who really ran shit. And he brought us in. We were doing a movie called American Honey. All right. We're selling magazines and stuff like that. We're at this reservation. We're around at this reservation. And they basically took us in. And when we were there with them, you know, they. They kind of, like, were explaining drunkenness to us and, like, spirit. Spirit. You know, like, for instance, like. Like when they do the. The. And they're going to check me on this, of course, because I should. I'm speaking out of turn, but, like, I never got to go to Sundance. No white man can. But, like, when they go to Sundance, it's complete sobriety. I think it's like 60 days before. 60 days in. I'm getting the timings wrong. Forgive me. Complete sobriety. But they also have another season where something like quinceanera, and I don't know if it's at 15 or 16, but there's a period of life where they encourage drunkenness. Jews also do the same thing.

[Andrew]

The Amish also have rum spray.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Amish do the same thing. Germans do the same thing. I get that I'm the wrong guy to proselytize this shit.

[Andrew]

No, but I get what you're saying.

[Shia LaBeouf]

But, yeah, I'm not. We're not alone in this. Mardi Gras is not the only one. You know, it's just the American one.

[Andrew]

But America doesn't have. It's a very puritanical culture. Sure. The Pilgrims were not. Didn't have a day where they all got hammered off on moonshine or whatever. They didn't even have alcohol. It would have been like prune juice. That was fermented.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Right.

[Andrew]

But yeah, no, it's true. New Orleans is like an alternative to American reality in many ways.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. It feels like our connection to Europe also. And it's been dominated by. By three different kingdoms. So it makes for a resilient type of depth that LA just does not have. So I. I come from an LA in the 90s that was more of a barrio and it had a depth to it with a different socioeconomic mix. And that socioeconomic mix is not like just money. It's like it's culture and it's spirit and it's feeling and it's all those things. It shapes the person. And the socioeconomics of LA changed and the spirit left and it's gone now. Now LA is dead.

[Andrew]

You don't even feel it, like, when you're.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's gone. I'm Angelino, for real. I'm really. I really am full blown la. You couldn't get more LA than me. I am so LA more than Esteban Oriole. Who is Estevan Oriole?

[Andrew]

Oriole is just like a famous photographer.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It doesn't matter to me at all, bro. You talk. Oh, no. Oh, you're talking about. I know who you're talking about. And respect me. He's very important. You're talking about the dude who does all Mr. Cartoons photography.

[Andrew]

That's the most LA guy I can think of.

[Shia LaBeouf]

The most LA guy I can think of also. And he's very important. And forgive me, me, I thought you were talking about some weird singer.

[Andrew]

No, no, no.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Okay. But even those dudes have become caricatures of themselves. The culture doesn't exist anymore. The car culture is gone. The dance culture is gone. The bar culture is gone. It's all gone. It's gone. I know it's gone because I'm firsthand watching it go away. Temple street in LA used to be a cultural mecca. This is where gang culture first birthed. Temple street and Glendale. That is the birthplace of gang culture in all of America. Temple Street's the oldest gang in America. This is also socioeconomics, right? So the first gang in America was Temple Gang. And then you have all this weirdo, whatever New York shit they had popping off the fucking. When you're a Jet, you're a whatever the fuck they were on. You know what I mean? God bless y'. All. But it's different. It's very different. Real gang culture is Los Angeles and it's undeniable. It's where it was birthed. You, you go up and down Temple street, it doesn't matter. There's no plaques. You walk around New Orleans, there's plaques everywhere. Why aren't there plaques on Temple Street? That's a huge Chicano culture that's just getting completely just. And they got all this ice shit and it's just getting fucking swallowed and everything's getting, like, melted away. And you're watching it happen. So the LA that I loved was the Chicano culture in la. It was the only spirit of la.

[Andrew]

That's a good point that you made as far as, like, even the expressions of, like, og what will be called car culture, like, when you see meetups. I know what you mean about the caricaturization.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It feels. It feels like watching Japanese people play Mexicans. Like, I remember seeing some stuff in Japan where they're like adopting Chicano culture. And I feel for him. I kind of in him away and am also. I'm a Jew in a way. I'm just like a Japanese Chicano guy, you know, I'm still like. I'm still like a gray goose sneaker out here. But I do it because I. I want so desperately to fit in, bro. I just want to fit in. Which again, goes back to this drinking, goes back to aa, goes back to this whole thing. Goes back to marriage, goes back to family. It goes back to the whole thing. If you really boil the whole thing down, bro, I like connecting with people. I'm desperate to connect with people. And I love Mardi Gras and I love New Orleans. What do you do with that? You say it out loud. You accept it. You take your bumps. I'm gonna go sit down. Probably for a while. Yeah. But I'm be out here. I like it here. I really do. I love it here.

[Andrew]

It's the best.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It is the best.

[Andrew]

Especially if you, like, have accomplished what you want to in life.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

You just sit down and focus on engaging with people. And only if you have career aspirations.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Probably not the spot. If you're like, yeah, if you're thirsty, this isn't the spot for you.

[Andrew]

Or if you're someone like me who

[Shia LaBeouf]

21, this isn't the spot.

[Andrew]

Graduated.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You got to get out of here.

[Andrew]

Am I going to write about A's and street cars?

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's true.

[Andrew]

Stations.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's true. You gotta get out of here. Yeah, but this city did. You would not be you had you not grown up here and did it here. Because you wouldn't have the ability to be able to connect with the multitudes that you're able to connect with.

[Andrew]

No I'm glad you brought that up because I've tried to explain that to interviewers.

[Shia LaBeouf]

They don't have.

[Andrew]

In Los Angeles.

[Shia LaBeouf]

They don't have it.

[Andrew]

They say, how did you. How are you able to talk to so many different kinds of people? And it's like, because I started here. Yeah. That's why I didn't start on the streets of.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, that's why.

[Andrew]

Post gentrified Venice.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. That's why.

[Andrew]

Or downtown Seattle, which like la, also lost its culture. Yeah. But much later, it wasn't the riots in 92. It was Amazon moving their corporate campus to my neighborhood in 2011. That was just a final blow. And like you mentioned, there's no plaques because the forces of industrialization and corporatization erased it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So New Orleans respects its own history.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

I suspect that maybe in 100 years historians might go back and put a plaque on temple and put a.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Maybe. Yeah.

[Andrew]

When it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

When it. When it benefits them. Yeah, sure.

[Andrew]

Or even like think about. This is a different city, but like OBLOC in Chicago.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Why is there not a plaque there that says this is where drill music started? That was the biggest cultural export of American music for two years. Took over the uk, took over rap around the world in New York.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

But no, they want to tear down that place and. And build a multi use family development within two years. There's no respect for any counterculture anymore. Especially not to get all race pilled. If it's like minority generated.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, it's true.

[Andrew]

White counterculture still gets preserved. Like in San Francisco at North beach, you can still see Allen Ginsberg's apartment covered in formaldehyde, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You could dig deeper into this and get lost. It's not just white. So let's take a. It's not just because there's a whole bunch of shit popping off.

[Andrew]

It ain't just race, brother.

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's not just. There's a whole bunch of shit popping off with that. That's a very. That's a lay. That's layered. That's very layered. That's layered. And it's also American. He's an American. He's. He is a titan in American literature. However you want to write him up. Ginsburg goes up there big time. Yeah. So no matter what you feel about him. So it's layered. It's layered. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Yo, I'm not hating on the people. I'm just saying the money people put into preserving cultural stuff.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Is. Is dedicated to a specific.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Who pays for the plaques in. In New Orleans, like this. Who pays for the plaques? Plaque?

[Andrew]

Probably the city. But also not. Not to disagree with you, Heavy, but also, where is the plaque for Lil Wayne's childhood home on Apple and Eagle?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, it's not here.

[Andrew]

Where's the plaque?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Still not here.

[Andrew]

For Seamer to and where Master.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And didn't the mayor say it's a music. The mayor just said she's. It's a music town. I gotta shut the. Because I'm already in trouble. So let's talk about something else. What do you think about Fondue?

[Andrew]

I with it, but it's nasty kind of on there.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't with it. Not at all.

[Andrew]

What do you with?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I like tacos deep.

[Andrew]

You've been to tj? No, I have one time.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah, one time.

[Shia LaBeouf]

But I was young.

[Andrew]

Just for the food.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I was in a Big Brothers program.

[Andrew]

What's that?

[Shia LaBeouf]

It's like when you. When your dad's in jail and they give you like a. Some nice guy to come take you to a Dodger game, take you out to hang out, take you to. He used to take me dirt bike riding. It was super sick. His name was Tom. He was cool, bro. He took me to TJ one time.

[Andrew]

What'd you and Tom doing, tj? You go to the water park?

[Shia LaBeouf]

We got fucking drunk. Oh, I shouldn't have said that.

[Andrew]

But he's good.

[Shia LaBeouf]

He's gone. God bless Tom. I was 16 and I begged him and he did it. And if they would have known that, they would have kicked Tom out the Big Brothers program. Let me tell you something about Tom. Tom was one of the illest motherfuckers that ever lived.

[Andrew]

His kids might see it, hopefully, and they'll know their dad was sick.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Hey, if his kids see it, hey. Tom was one of the illest motherfuckers that ever lived. That was a good man. That fool helped me a lot, bro. I used to have a whole bunch of shit with my mom where I'd be screaming at my mom and Tom. My dad was in jail and I was acting up. Tom would be like, hey, bro, you can't be doing that hard to do that to a kid that's not yours.

[Andrew]

You gotta have a big heart and love for the world.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. And be connected to the kid. He was a good motherfucker, Tom. Yeah, he was a stuntman. He introduced me to Hollywood. That's how I came in. My first job was Leprechaun 4. Yeah, he was a stuntman on stunt coordinator. And my first job, I was a little tiny leprechaun motorcycle rider going back to big homies.

[Andrew]

Whenever you got out of jail here, went back to Bourbon. I'm sure by then you probably got your phone back and saw that, like, you had gone viral. Number one news item.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I didn't shut the whole shit down.

[Andrew]

But what about text messages?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I didn't touch it till a couple days later.

[Andrew]

Did you see, like, a bunch of concerned messages?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Of course you respond. Well, that's partly why I say, hey, bro. Andrew, can I talk to you? When you have to explain yourself over and over, it's. It's exhausting and it's emptying, and so I just like to get it out of the way, like, just bang, bang, bang.

[Andrew]

So you feel like this is a way of kind of like, responding to a thousand texts? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And not just the text, but there's a lot of people that love me that I don't know, that are concerned that I want to, you know, make sure they're cool too.

[Andrew]

Well, I guess if you could talk to him directly. What do you want to tell him?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't know what to tell you. I'm on it. I'm on a path, and I'm. I'm okay. You know? I mean, I'm okay.

[Andrew]

I think that's important to know because

[Shia LaBeouf]

that's important to know.

[Andrew]

You are doing okay.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm okay. I'm curious.

[Andrew]

And God's got me in Catholicism. It's more forgiving than Protestantism, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm already. I'm already. I've already earned the love from God. Yeah, I'm straight, you know? I mean, he. He already did the thing.

[Andrew]

You see all the Epstein stuff when you were honestly, hey, people gotta get right.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You know me. You gotta open up. You gotta get right. People gotta get right. People gotta get right.

[Andrew]

But were you peeping game when you were, like, out and about, like, on the same day all these documents are dropping?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No. I mean, nah, bro. I was chasing ass on Mardi Gras. What do you mean? I wasn't paying no attention to Epstein files. No, this is beyond me, bro. I don't get into this.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I just wondered is like the biggest news story in the world for a

[Shia LaBeouf]

couple days was Epstein, you got no life. You mean just sitting in a hole. You're not, you know, chasing ass and getting at it that are in the street. They don't give a About this stupid. You. I mean, if you're sitting home all day just like, ah, who got kidnapped? You know? I mean, your life sucks. You're a Normie off. But if you're out here, nobody gives a about none of this. No. I remember asking Kendrick one time like, bro, hey, hey, Trump. Or. Or Kamala. He was like, you think I give a about this? Like he got real lying.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Yeah. You know, though, I just remember there was one day where it was like, either Epstein does horrible or it's you having fun. And was. No. No.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Right. So if you got a pick. Hey, man, come with me. I'm no good one.

[Andrew]

Yeah. And you're not.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm the. No, no weird files, bro.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I was gonna say I'm not.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No. No weird files. All my shit's in the street, bro. I'm. I'm open hearted. I done up. Yes. But you know what I did? You know, I mean. And you know what I didn't do too. I swear. You do. Come on. How? How, bro? How, bro? Think deductive. Deductive. What is it called? Deductive logic. Deductive rationale. Deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

So work your way back in terms of my whole life. You'll know them by their fruits.

[Andrew]

Do you like. You know, I wanted to talk about some old.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Go ahead, bro. Yeah.

[Andrew]

He will not divide us. Probably.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Come on, dog.

[Andrew]

I was just thinking today, I was like. That was Shia.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

And that you were kind of ahead of the curve on that.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Hey, bro. Different time, different spirit, different everything. Just everything. And I wasn't wrong. He didn't.

[Andrew]

You don't think Trump divided us?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, no, no. It depends on your sensibilities. I. I still stand by the statement I put on the wall. He will not divide us and he did not.

[Andrew]

Well, he did divide the public.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, no, no, no. He. I. Look, we. The beauty of that piece actually was its ability to be both things. And I don't want to the art up, so I'm not going to speak on it no more. I don't want to choose a side. I'm a Catholic.

[Andrew]

Christ first.

[Shia LaBeouf]

First only.

[Andrew]

What would you say to Jesus if you could meet him?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I wouldn't say.

[Andrew]

Really?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Nah, bro. I kiss him. Got kiss him. I just kissed. I kiss his feet. I won't say nothing. Chill out with these questions, Andrew. My bad.

[Andrew]

I didn't know it was gonna make you emotional.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm a real Catholic, bro. A real one.

[Andrew]

I just thought you had thought about it.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Nah, I'm a real one, bro.

[Andrew]

I wanna believe it's something.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, hey, bro, you gotta hit your head into the wall hard enough where you just got go it. It's the only way, dog.

[Andrew]

That's how you find God. Yep.

[Shia LaBeouf]

For me, for the hard headed ones, yeah, you got to go hard.

[Andrew]

What do you think was the real life equivalent of you smashing your head on the wall?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I put a gun in my mouth. I was ready to kill myself, blow my brains out writing letters. My dark days, for real gone, ready to go.

[Andrew]

Why didn't you do it?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Why didn't I do it? Cuz I'm. And also my mom, so God bless her, she kept me alive that night. And also some dude, I've said it already, but there was a dude who hit me up. This guy from the program. I used to save all the numbers in my phone, you know, Joey aa, Bobby aa, Tommy, aa. And there was a cat who hit me up that night. I was ready to go and he hit me up. He said, hey, what are you doing? Or something like that. And then I was like trying to explain myself, like, bro, this I'm out of here life, I can't take it no more. I just lost my girlfriend. She was walking out the door. My wife didn't know, the ex is suing. It's all just. I'm. I can't wrap my head around it all. I'm out of here, bro. And he's like, oh, yeah, cool, tell me about it in the morning. And I thought, you insensitive piece of. And he bought me the night. I was so angry. I need to talk to him in the morning. Sometimes that'll save you. Sometimes just being like, sometimes madness, rage will save you from really scary stuff. I don't know, I'm not in charge, you know, God's running the shit. I. I just try my best and I'm not refined and I'm one of them dirty Christians.

[Andrew]

But it might benefit you to work out some kind of strategy for minimizing the harm you cause to yourself and others.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, definitely to others for sure.

[Andrew]

You know, just figuring out what makes you upset, like what situations trigger.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, that's kind of. I gotta, you know. Yeah, I gotta look into that for sure. But to be honest with you, bro, I think it's just Mardi Gras.

[Andrew]

Mardi Gras over, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I know, but nobody's getting in fights after Mardi Gras.

[Andrew]

You can always get into a fight.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I swear I haven't been. I don't experience that out here. I don't feel no pressure, nobody G checking you, nobody being weird. I just feel love. I've been out every night since and I just feel love. Maybe it's just the time the season Maybe it's me, maybe I'm stupid, I don't care. But I have not experienced any pressure in the city whatsoever. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Also, the crowd of people that come from Marty Gr. During Marty Gras, 2.5 million people come here. So you're dealing with, like a whole different demographic people here. It's none but, like, love.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. I swear, like, I'm in uptown, so you know my 10 mile radius. I do my little runs every day. Everybody on my. I go to. It's me here. I go here to Audubon. Basically. I'm never in the French Quarter, and most locals don't go down there.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I lost a bunch of weight in college, like 40 pounds or some my freshman year. Just running on the streetcar path.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

From Carrollton to Napoleon.

[Shia LaBeouf]

St. Charles.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, on St. Charles. But, you know, you run on the path. I would race the streetcar like Forrest Gump.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Amazing.

[Andrew]

And Taurus would think it's something that just happens regularly. Carrying my arm, shit, running as fast as I can, trying to beat him.

[Shia LaBeouf]

How fast does that streetcar go?

[Andrew]

Not that fast. You can beat it. Fuck.

[Shia LaBeouf]

He goes, though. I seen him pull it down. I got an rta. Yeah, they go. Their motherfucker moves.

[Andrew]

Yeah, but if you're hauling ass, I think you can beat it. From Loyola to Napoleon. I don't know how well you know the streets. Dead sprint.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. Damn. That's your first challenge. Oh, golly.

[Andrew]

Uptown's got so many places to run.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. And like, I'm learning about. Yeah, that's the cool thing, too, is, like, I get to explore and, like, fall into cool things. I found a little running group, and it's dope, dude. It's community.

[Andrew]

You're still keeping the exercise shit moving?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, I gotta get to work, you know, I mean, I'm getting. I got a rodeo. I gotta get on a fucking bowl. What? Yeah, I'm getting ready to go to work, dude.

[Andrew]

You going? You going to Angola?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Angola? Yeah.

[Andrew]

You're going?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrew]

You're participating?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, yeah. Ain't no reason to make the movie. You don't fucking make a movie. You got to go.

[Andrew]

You're making a movie about Angola prison?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, the rodeo.

[Andrew]

I shot my first documentary ever in my life at the Angola rodeo when I was a sophomore in college. And they. They wouldn't let any press in, but for some reason, Loyola, because it's a Catholic school, warden back then was a Catholic, they let me in the bullpen with the inmates.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Whoa.

[Andrew]

So I got to interview them, like, right before. I don't have the footage anymore, but that was. That was the.

[Shia LaBeouf]

And what were they talking about right before? And what were they doing right before with their hands?

[Andrew]

Just talking about how excited they were, man. My initial thought was, like, that's so up. Making these dudes ride bulls for free, people for money. But then you realize that they're in objectively horrible situation.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

And for some of these guys who are in the trustees program, this is the light of their life. Every single day is in anticipation. And so I ended up actually coming away with a more positive outlook.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I think it's beautiful. I mean, Angola's rough, and the way they run that prison is dark. Like, you know, Angola's horrible. Really rough. Dude.

[Andrew]

It's a labor prison. It used to be a plantation.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Still rough. It's still rough. And I'm not gonna speak too much on it because I still gotta make friends there.

[Andrew]

But even most of the people there know it's rough, but they accept the law of the land.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. It's a weird culture there. It's a weird, weird cult. Plus. Plus they've had some strong men run it for so long. And that guy who's there now is. And God bless you, bro. I'm not gonna speak too much on it.

[Andrew]

Yeah. But yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. I'm headed there.

[Andrew]

And it's crazy how much talent. Yeah. Is behind the walls and truly amazing people that will never hear from.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Well, not never. I mean, this. That's kind of what I'm trying to do is not never, but what. Time out. Hold on now, bro. I'm a God guy. Hold on, bro. I don't know, dog. I don't know. I don't. I just don't know. No, I can't call it. I can't call it. I used to be able to just make these quick assessments like that. I can't. Everybody's on their own journey, bro. God's involved.

[Andrew]

So you think spiritual freedom can occur behind the wall?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Oh, oh, oh. Part of me thinks that they. They got a. They got a quicker route. You know, I know a lot of monks and something like the way. The way they live is something like what it's like in county. It's not. You know, hermitages are something like a prison. Some people feel better inside. There's a whole. It's not just all straight, like, bland, negative, like, just don't believe in that. Like that. I know that there's a look for the. The great majority of the dudes that are in there. It's. It's. It is what it is. But even inside, look, there's. You ever read Victor Frankel's Search Man's. Okay, great book.

[Andrew]

Man's Search for Meaning.

[Shia LaBeouf]

So. Man. Even in the Holocaust, you know, I don't know. I feel that way about art too. Like you could be a janitor if your heart's involved, you know.

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Then you're. You're an artist. And so I feel that way about this spiritual thing. It doesn't. You don't need necessarily, like, what is the most fertile ground for spirituality? If you were to set up your life right now, Andrew, and say, hey, by. By Monday next week, I need to have a better relationship with God, what would you do?

[Andrew]

I would say it would be disconnection from all superficial sources of gratification, even things like food and water, technology. Obviously you would need to break fast at some point, but depriving yourself of the things that you use to distract

[Shia LaBeouf]

from something like prison.

[Andrew]

Prison, yeah. Quite similar to prison.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Exactly.

[Andrew]

But that would be the voluntary choice to like, you know, reach that.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, but see, but that voluntary choice, sometimes for the stubborn ones. God don't give a about what you think. He's gotta beat me into it, dude. I'm never gonna choose it. He's gonna beat the out of me until I get there. Yeah, yeah, but I'm with him.

[Andrew]

No, I know what you mean. Sometimes it's like learning from mistakes simply isn't enough.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I got it. No, not for me. That's for smart people.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I know what you mean. There are some people that need to be.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Taught the hard way.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, that's just what it is.

[Andrew]

Do you ever think that'll happen to yourself?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'm in it right now. Right now. What do you mean? We're in it right now. Yeah.

[Andrew]

I guess it would be crazy for me to ask you about your plans for the future because you're just really in this present moment.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I give a. About the future. I care about my kid.

[Andrew]

That's the number one thing.

[Shia LaBeouf]

That's it. Only her. You don't care about my kid. And right now I got a good thing going, so I'm not gonna with it.

[Andrew]

You don't care about returning to Hollywood in the traditional sense?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No. For what? I was never gonna go back anyway. My aims were never there from the jump, you know, I mean, I was never that. From the jury jump.

[Andrew]

What was the movie that you were most stoked on, though, in your time there?

[Shia LaBeouf]

Like a Hollywood movie.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah. That you could watch today and be like, man, that was That's a good time watching this.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't have those.

[Andrew]

I remember when you got caught jacking off in Disturbia.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, you got a thing that.

[Andrew]

That changed my whole security system for my teenage.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, so there you go.

[Andrew]

Started barricading the door. Cuz I don't want to end up like your character.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I get it. See, but here's what it is for. For me, those films, it's like me expressing somebody else's dream.

[Andrew]

Dream.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't care about their dream, really. I can empathize, but the. The more up my life got, the more wonky it got and the more insurance became tricky. The better the choices got and the better the work got and the more expressive it became and the more the craft became diaristic. And now I'm around on something that feels so crazy that I would never, ever. You can't even compare the two. I'm around people. There's a comparison. You know, I like what I got going on, right? Yeah.

[Andrew]

So you wouldn't want to compare your life to a different person?

[Shia LaBeouf]

No, I wouldn't trade.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Shia LaBeouf]

No. I'm really him. So I don't feel weird about it. I feel like God's got me and I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I'm in a weird category. I don't know what it is. I don't know who it is. I know the guys I looked up to. A couple of them just passed like two days ago. Duvall, James, Vanderbeek. I love those fools a lot.

[Andrew]

What role do you think the media has played in, you know, your adult life?

[Shia LaBeouf]

I don't give a what they do. They're dead or. Anyway, so over.

[Andrew]

Media's over.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah. Cheers.

[Andrew]

Hey, Channel five's alive.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Come on.

[Andrew]

Dead Media theory.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Cheers. Over. You know what? The only thing missing is, like, a. For film, at least, is distribution. And so what I need to do is I need to cultivate, like, these podcast relationships. And if I cultivate enough of them and we go hard enough, like, if this hits a million. And we will.

[Andrew]

It will.

[Shia LaBeouf]

But you do this enough, right, you make another. These podcast cultivations, then are gonna really look for the stuff, you know, And I. I don't know, I envision a different future. I'm hopeful.

[Andrew]

Hopeful.

[Shia LaBeouf]

I'll tell you that.

[Andrew]

I'm hopeful about the future of media.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, I'm hopeful.

[Andrew]

We're about to launch an independent streaming platform.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Right?

[Andrew]

Other people's movies.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Right.

[Andrew]

Where they get all the residuals, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Game over. Bye. Game over. That's all I need, Andrew. That's the end of it. I don't give a what they say it we win. I don't give a what they say, bro. Are you kidding me, bro? Oh, I just broke my wall. Damn, dude. Damn, bro. I just broke my wall and I just had these walls walls painted, bro. Damn, bro. I broke my wall, bro. Oh man, I was so excited. I'mma fix it, dude. I'mma fix oh, damn, bro. I'mma fix it. Damn, Andrew. That's all I need to hear. That's all I need. Game over. That's it. Really is game over. Game over. Hey, God bless you.

[Andrew]

I'm gonna grab a Lacroix too.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Go do whatever you want. Channel 5 live worldwide Hollywood advice. The authority. Channel 5 news. Channel 55. We don't with custers and 5 is the best number. Rumble, young man, rumble. Do you ever pray? How do you pray? You know how to pray. Let's pray right now.

[Andrew]

Okay, how do we do it?

[Shia LaBeouf]

We're gonna try right now. So the first step is you got to shut the up, right? And then you just got to listen. To your thoughts. Cuz when you shut up, the first thing that happens is your ego tries to take control of yourself and you start thinking about the past and the, and all this and monologue. And then you get. So it takes about five minutes to hear something else which sounds like something else which sounds like for me, loving guidance. Which sounds something like John Madden. It's loving and it's, it's, it's not. It's. It's like a coach. It's like guidance. It's like. Who was Tyson's trainer?

[Andrew]

Customado.

[Shia LaBeouf]

So you pick a voice and you get like him, like Custom Auto. And it's something like that. You shut the up long enough, you're gonna hear your voice sounds like that weak little that's always tripping out about this and that and that and this and that. And then you're gonna hear this other voice that's gonna sound like Custom Auto. And he's gonna say something loving with some, some guidance attached. So shut the up till you hear that. You gotta pipe. Don't fake it either. Andrew. If you don't hear we're gonna see her all night. Dude,

[Andrew]

I seem to hear the voice of my own grandfather like right away.

[Shia LaBeouf]

What did he say?

[Andrew]

You just saying my name, dope. Well, not my name, but he used to call me lad, which, which is, you know, Irish way of saying like grandson, nephew, whatever.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Can I interpret that for you? Yeah, you're good, fool. They got you.

[Andrew]

Hell, yeah, man.

[Shia LaBeouf]

You.

[Andrew]

It was a pleasure, bro.

[Shia LaBeouf]

Yeah, pleasure. Thank you. Nice to meet you guys. All of you. Hell, yeah.