The wild lengths Shia LaBeouf went to for ‘Fury’
The pros and cons of method acting is a debate that not even the performers themselves can seem to agree on, but the lengths Shia LaBeouf went to in order to convincingly portray a tank gunner in David Ayer’s World War II thriller Fury even ended up pushing his castmates to the brink.
Realism is one thing, but taking things to such extremes that it begins to create a negative atmosphere on set is an entirely different set of circumstances. Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, LaBeouf confirmed that when he couldn’t convince a professional that removing his tooth made “medical sense”, he ended up having it done “by some guy in Reseda next to a Radio Shack, and he didn’t ask too many questions”.
Movies of a similar scale to Fury have extensive prosthetic departments to replicate the harrowing effects of being in the thick of conflict, but as Logan Lerman revealed to GQ, LaBeouf opted to open a cut on his own face for the duration of the shoot in order to provide added realism: “He walks out into the hallway and says, ‘Hey man, wanna see something fun? Check this out…’ and he takes out a knife and cuts his face,” he said. “For the whole movie, he kept opening these cuts on his face. That’s all real.”
It was also reported that LaBeouf would go days without bathing to get into the correct mindset of a soldier forced to reside in cramped conditions, but even though he was praised by Brad Pitt as “one of the best actors I’ve ever seen”, not every member of the ensemble was left thrilled by his “full-on commitment”.
Co-star Scott Eastwood recalled a “volatile moment that Brad Pitt ultimately got in the middle of”, which stemmed from LaBeouf’s intense dedication to his part: “I never think your process as an actor should ever hinder how people are treated on set,” he said. “It should always enhance the production, not take away and put people in a situation where it’s a shitty work environment or you’re rude or people have to be in an uncomfortable situation.”
LaBeouf wasn’t of the same opinion, though, claiming that Ayer urged the cast to indulge in some tough love to forge their on and off-screen kinship by fighting amongst themselves: “It worked. It really bonded us. You can only get so much out in a conversation with a bunch of boys in that setting, fighting is really intimate. I’m not saying we didn’t get mad at each other, but we love each other and it dies when we leave.”
Eastwood may have been left less than thrilled with LaBeouf’s method acting antics, and it seems as if Lerman was more shocked than anything, but earning the respect and admiration of a star on Pitt’s level – who endorsed his process by praising him for “living it like no one else” – doesn’t come easy in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.
