Summary
- Shia LaBeouf praised his father on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, painting him as a loving and quirky man.
- LaBeouf's movie Honey Boy portrayed his father as abusive, causing viewers to feel sympathy for him.
- In a recent interview, LaBeouf expressed regret about how Honey Boy misrepresented his father.
Arguably one of the most interesting celebrities of the modern era, it seems like every aspect of Shia LaBeouf's career is fascinating. After all, LaBeouf quit the Transformers franchise despite making a fortune, which is something very few actors would do.
While LaBeouf's career has been interesting, his personal life has often been tragic until recently. These days, LaBeouf is married to Mia Goth, who is protective of their relationship, and becoming a father changed his life. Now that LaBeouf's personal life seems to be on a better note, it is fascinating to look back on his relationship with his father.
Shia LaBeouf Praised His Father Years Before Saying He Was Abusive
In 2003, Shia LaBeouf hadn't taken his career to the next level by starring in Transformers yet. At that stage in LaBeouf's career, he made a memorable appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The reason why the resulting interview is memorable is because of what the young actor said about his dad.
A couple of minutes into LaBeouf's interview, O'Brien asked the actor about his love life at that time. In response, LaBeouf began telling O'Brien a story that involved his father, which painted a very different picture of the man than what most people know.
When and where was Shia LaBeouf born, according to Famous People?
- Shia LaBeouf was born on June 11, 1986
- Shia LaBeouf was born in Los Angeles, CA
- Shia LaBeouf is 37 years old as of January 2024
"Pops took me to the beach when I was like thirteen with my girlfriend. And, you know, it was nice because we live in Echo Park, he thought, 'Okay, I'm going to take him to the beach.'"
As LaBeouf continued to tell his story, he told O'Brien that his dad was a "hippie" which is a word most people associate with kindness. LaBeouf then described something really embarrassing that happened to his dad and how his father took it in stride.
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As the interview continued, O'Brien asked LaBeouf for more information about his father. "What does your dad do? You say he's a hippie that wears hippie shorts." LaBeouf then went on to paint a picture of his dad that made the man seem unusual but harmless.
"Well, he does a number of things. Well, you know, his claim to fame is he trained chickens to jump through hoops of fire. I swear, I swear Conan... Well he opened for The Doobie Brothers. He used to be like this rodeo clown so he opened for The Doobie Brothers."
Throughout O'Brien and LaBeouf's interview, the young actor never made it seem like his dad was a saint. However, everything that LaBeouf said during the interview made it seem like he got along fine with his dad.
Shia LaBeouf's Movie Made His Father Seem Abusive
In 2019, Shia LaBeouf's movie Honey Boy, which he starred in and co-wrote, came out. Probably the most critically acclaimed movie of LaBeouf's career, Honey Boy wasn't a box office success, but it won praise from viewers.
When Honey Boy was released, it was sold to audiences as a depiction of LaBeouf's tragic childhood. In the movie, LaBeouf portrayed a character that was supposed to be a recreation of his father.
When audiences got to see Honey Boy, many of them were devastated for LaBeouf. After all, it is tragic when any child is brought up with an abusive father like the one LaBeouf portrayed in Honey Boy.
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The actor has a history of dating his teenage co-stars and abusive behavior.
One piece of dialogue from Honey Boy seemed to be the main thing many viewers took away from the movie. In one especially dramatic scene, the character that was supposed to represent LaBeouf as a child said something very revealing about his father.
“The only thing my father gave me that was worth anything was pain. And you’re trying to take it away from me.”
How successful was Honey Boy, according to The Numbers?
| Production Budget: | $3,500,000 |
| Domestic Box Office: | $3,012,615 |
| International Box Office: | $403,106 |
Considering how Honey Boy portrays LaBeouf's childhood, seeing what the actor told Conan O'Brien about his father is weird. Of course, a lot of people who go through abuse hide their pain so that potentially could have explained the situation.
Shia LaBeouf Regrets How Honey Boy Portrayed His Father
Based on how Honey Boy portrayed Shia LaBeouf's dad, it seemed like a no-brainer to dismiss what the actor said to Conan O'Brien. However, that changed dramatically in 2022 after LaBeouf completely changed his tune during an interview.
After many years of scandal and controversy, LaBeouf made an appearance on Jon Bernthal's Real Ones podcast. During each episode of his podcast, Bernthal sits down for a wide-ranging interview with people who've had unique experiences.
What are the most popular episodes of Jon Bernthal's Real Ones, according to Memod?
- Carey Hart
- Kevin Vance
- Nick Bernthal
- Kurt Angle
- Shia LaBeouf
When LaBeouf and Bernthal began talking, the former Transformers star spent most of the interview calling himself out. While LaBeouf admitted that he didn't agree with some claims that have been made about him, he didn't focus on that. Instead, LaBeouf focused the conversation on his mistakes and his attempts to change for the better.
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At one point during his conversation with Bernthal, the topic of his movie Honey Boy came up.
Since Honey Boy made the masses empathize with LaBeouf, he easily could have relied on that and tried to blame his dad for everything wrong in his life. Instead, LaBeouf told Bernthal that Honey Boy was incredibly misleading and that he'd betrayed his father.
“Here’s a man who I’ve done vilified on a grand scale. I wrote this narrative, which was just f**king nonsense. My dad was so loving to me my whole life. Fractured, sure. Crooked, sure. Wonky, for sure. But never was not loving, never was not there. He was always there…and I’d done a world press tour about how fucked he was as a man.”
LaBeouf also stated that he got his dad's permission to make Honey Boy by misleading him about how the movie portrayed him. Furthermore, LaBeouf was specific about some of the ways Honey Boy was fake.
“I turned the knob up on certain s**t that wasn’t real. My dad never hit me, never. He spanked me once, one time…and the story that gets painted in Honey Boy is this dude is abusing his kid all the time.”
