Shia Labeouf Biography
Shia LaBeouf, the 20-year-old actor who stars in this summer's sci-fi action thriller flick Transformers, has been chosen to play the role of Harrison Ford's son in the fourth instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Hi recently released movie Disturbia, has opened at the #1 spot and has been a hit with LaBeouf's fans.
Shia Saide LaBeouf, born on 11 June 1986, in Los Angeles, CA, was raised by his performer parents (father – a mime artist and a clown at the rodeo, and mother – a dancer and ballet artist) in the working class neighborhood of Echo Park. LaBeouf's maternal grandfather was a comedian who engaged in work at the Borscht Belt of the Catskill Mountains. LaBeouf had once said that he comes from "five generations of performers" and was "acting when I came out of the womb". He has also described his parents as "hippies", and his father as "tough as nails and a different breed of man", and has often commented that his upbringing was similar to a "hippy lifestyle", and that his parents were "pretty weird people, but they loved me and I loved them".
As a child LaBeouf would "create things, and fictitious tales", and eventually ventured into practising stand-up comedy close to his neighborhood, as a means of "escape" from a hostile environment. By the time he was ten, he had begun to perform stand-up acts and make people laugh by "talking dirty" at comedy clubs (including The Ice House in Los Angeles). LaBeouf admits to having landed himself an agent by simply picking one of the Yellow Pages, and being accepted by her after doing his 'dirty' stand-up act for her.
Career
By 12, LaBeouf was signed by the agency and had begun making the rounds on network programs such as 'The X-Files', and 'Freaks and Geeks'. However, the year 2003, proved to be providential for LaBeouf, as he landed the role of Louis Stevens, the manic, nerdy contrast to perfect older sister Ren, played by Christy Carlson Romano, on the Disney Channel production "Even Stevens." This series proved to be a huge draw with younger viewers and helped LaBeouf garner excellent notices. Moreover, his role in as Louis won him the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for the show's final season in 2003.
In the same year, LaBeouf reunited with the cast of 'Even Stevens' to act in the original movie 'The Even Stevens Movie' for the Disney Channel. Soon after, he moved to theatre, starting by acting in Disney's adaptation of the popular young adult book "Holes" (2003). The role gave LaBeouf the chance to not only display his comic chops but also his knack for drama, which helped him to stand his own in a cast populated by stalwarts like Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Tim Blake Nelson. The movie earned LaBeouf critical praise as well as the inevitable "performer-to-watch" buzz. For his performance in "Holes," LaBeouf won an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Male Performer.
LaBeouf acted in some other less noteworthy movies in 2003, such as a cameo in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle", while playing the lead in "The Battle of Shaker Heights".
2005 was the year when LaBeouf reunited with Disney for the historical drama "The Greatest Game Ever Played," in which he enacted the role of a real-life golf prodigy who squares off against the season's top player in the 1913 U.S. Open. Though, the movie was not a box office winner, LaBeouf still managed to carry the film on his shoulders due to his restrained and noteworthy presence. With 'I, Robot' the big-budget Will Smith movie, LaBeouf made another clever career move that helped entrench his name and image in Hollywood's mind.
This young actor has a canny mind and this was proved when he divided his time between acting in big studio productions as well as smaller, independent movie projects. While he played the witty chauffeur to Keanu Reeves role in 'Constantine', he lent his voice to the English language version of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (2005), an animation feature popular with devotees of the genre. But that's not all; he made his directorial debut with Lorenzo Eduardo with the experimental short film, "Let's Love Hate," which addressed racial intolerance. This inde film won several awards at regional festivals, besides winning critical acclaim.
The year 2006 started with a 'bare all' role for LaBeouf, in the Emilio Estevez project 'Bobby'. The A-list cast of the movie was nominated for the Screen Actors' Guild award, but failed to win it. However, LaBeaouf and his fellow cast members went on to win the Special Jury Prize for "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006). Despite the fact that both films were non performers at the BO, LaBeouf managed to carve a niche for himself as a young actor with mature skills and interests.
2007 has begun with a bang for LaBeouf, whose recently released movie "Disturbia," has had a good opening at the BO. Shia LaBeouf has also signed as the lead in the Michael Bay's summer offering, "Transformers," and his leading lady is the very pretty and sexy Megan Fox. And if his acting profile could not get any bigger, rumors are rife that he has been signed to play the son of Indiana Jones in the fourth part of this movie franchise.
Here's what Shia LaBeouf has to say about Indiana Jones, "Up until about two weeks ago, it was little more than a rumor". "Literally, when I was saying, 'I don't know anything,' I didn't know anything. It was an act of faith. I have not read a script. I don't think anybody has."
And Steven Spielberg said in an e-mailed statement: "Shia has extraordinary range. I think of him as 'the young man for all seasons."
Personal Life
Shia LaBeouf is currently single and is in no hurry to fall in love after having broken off with his girlfriend of 3 years. He wants to focus on his acting career and take care of his family.