He survived attacks from giant killer robots and high speed car chases in “Transformers,” bug attacks and spear-wielding natives in “Indiana Jones” and a psychotic, murderous neighbor in “Disturbia,” but it took a woman in stilettos to get Shia LaBeouf to beef up his stunts in “Eagle Eye.”
“She’s a powerhouse,” Shia told Access Hollywood’sBilly Bush about his co-star, Michelle Monaghan. “She’s a little tank. That’ girl’s a tank. I’ve never seen any stunt woman do what she does.”
Shia, who sat down with Billy over the weekend, said he got rather competitive on set with the 32-year-old Michelle.
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“Super competitive,” the 22-year-old Shia clarified. “[When] she’s running as fast as you in stilettos, you start questing yourself. You start going to craft services [and then are] like, ‘Nah, I’m going to eat some celery right now.’ She brings it up a level.”
Michelle’s stamina, endurance and willingness to get bruised up for her art were all exemplified on the first day of filming director D.J. Caruso’s “Eagle Eye,” according to Shia.
“We’re falling on these gravel rocks and we didn’t pad up because we didn’t have enough time to pad up,” Shia explained. “[We] were out in the middle of this field and the pads are way back at base camp. And D.J.‘s like, ‘I need you to hit that gravel.’ And she’s like ‘I’m game. Let’s do it.’ No questions asked. She did it like 30 times, just ripping herself up, just jamming her shoulder into this gravel. And me and D.J. looked at each other like, ‘Yeah, this is bad a**.’”
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Though it took a thirty-something woman to get Shia to up his game in the film, one place he is always brave is online. Unlike many of his celebrity peers who steer clear of gossip Web sites and message boards, Shia enjoys reading about himself online.
“I like people’s input,” he told Billy. “If you were to get in a room with, for instance, you’re selling light bulbs, and you get a bunch of people in the room to tell you how to make your light bulb better, why not? If my fans are telling me they want this or they want that, we’re now in an age, where I can go directly to my fans. I don’t have to go through a third party. I can figure out exactly what they want and what they want to see.”
And while he definitely visits online sites, the actor said he usually does it in disguise.
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