Shia LaBeouf criticizes De Niro
By Alexandra Heilbron on September 29, 2010 | 27 Comments
Shia LaBeouf told British newspaper The Sun that he hopes he’s never like Robert De Niro, who has gotten too “comfortable” as an actor. Instead, he looks up to Dustin Hoffman. Currently starring in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the 24-year-old actor refuses to become complacent about his success and insists he will continue to challenge himself, saying, “I am not where I want to be at. And I hope I will never go to the De Niro stage where I’ve gotten there and I am comfortable. Because that’s the death of an actor. Look at Hoffman, he is still striving, pushing and fighting. Comfort is the end. I have goals that are tangible, but they are way distant, and I created them so that they are distant. You want a dream you can never reach. You don’t want to buy the dream car, because what do you do then?” Shia also compared his Wall Street director Oliver Stone with Steven Spielberg, who directed him in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. “I met Oliver at a very, very dark place. And I needed Oliver to get me out,” Shia explained. “Steven couldn’t help me. Steven had never gone through the things I was going through. There are different routes in life. Steven is very innocent. I love him but he couldn’t give me guidance because he could not understand.”
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I think Shia can criticize De Niro or Spielberg when he gets to their level of success. He’s only 24!!!!!!
Yeah, if he wants a long career it’s probably not wise to be mouthing off in public, criticizing your superiors.
true to what you guys said…”Because that��s the death of an actor” after he said what he said… hahhhaha
I agree Who is he to criticize? and also the things he said about his mother being the sexiest woman he knows etc. I also think he is overrated and not a good actor. Just like Megan Fox! but that’s just me.
I can understand what people are saying but how about this… When you are an actor that has made it in Hollywood then you can criticize Shia. You are no better than he is if you criticize him. I can understand where he is coming from as an actor being one myself. i find it funny though, the posts above are hypocrites. Are any of you in show business? I doubt it. lol
Joshua, do you know the meaning of the word hypocrite? It means to say one thing and do another. To be a hypocrite, people here would have had to be criticizing successful veterans who’ve been in the same business they are in. Since probably none of them are in the business, that means they’re not hypocrites. And Shia is no veteran. But since you come on here and say don’t criticize and then criticize everyone, doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?
It’s fine if you agree or disagree with him, but it sounds like you guys are roasting him because he stated his thoughts about someone.
Is he not allowed to have an opinion? Or is he just not allowed to say it out loud?
Let us just say it’s not a good idea to criticize people who have power over your career, at least not out loud.
At least he has a spine. Even if he doesn’t get a lick of work after today, I’ll still respect him for that.
That idiot has some nerve!
Ally on September 29, 2010 10:52 PM youre one to talk. every article on here you have something rude to say about the celeb. you shouldnt be allowed to post anymore.
i dont think people that are new in the business should be talking about people they dont even know. has shia even MET robert? also, i think robert is an amazing actor and has had a very successful career, i still enjoy watching movies with him in them (the new ones and the old ones). i think if shia wants to aspire to be anyone, it should be deniro. he has had a long career and he stays out of the spotlight outside of work. megan fox did kind of the same thing when she was talking about transformers and didnt they try to (or arent they going to) replace her for the next one? these young actors/actresses need to learn to keep their thoughts (that may be interpreted as RUDE) to themselves if they want to continue to work in an industry thats all about who you know and who is willing to watch your movies.
I think his comment is an interesting one. I can see both sides of the argument here. One can see this young actors point. However in the same breathe one can also say that De Niro can afford to be comfortable where he is and is one of the better actors in hollywood to date. To further this young actors point however there was a statistic a few months ago which I came across which was interesting. They compared actors and the profitability of their films compared to the salaries they demand. Shia was very near the top of that list in terms of profitability. There is something to be said for that.
@ mandee
Sure from what I’d deemed a socially acceptable standpoint I agree with your response. However it will always come down to the almighty dollar in the film industry. If Shia continues to bring in cash he will get leading roles in major films. As soon as his popularity fades and his attitude doesn’t that is when you will see Shia end up the way of the Fox. Which you are correct about she will not be appearing in the next transformers film due to comments about the director(s) of the film. Really she made a critical error T&A can and will always be replaced on-screen with very subtle script re-writes. On screen personalities which the audience is comfortable watching and will disrupt the flow of the series & cash won’t be replaced unless absolutely required (Spiderman).
well, rest assured Shia, you’ll NEVER be compared to De Niro in my books…
L1feless on September 30, 2010 12:13 AM in tv shows they replaced the one that played becky in roseanne lol. thats the only one i can think of. your comment makes sense, and it blows that he can pick at other celebs and still get hired.
Why is it that some people jump all over someone for giving an opinion, rather than debate the point the person made? Why interpret everything in the worst possible way, rather than the context of the comment?
I agree that Shia’s comment about DeNiro isn’t completely flattering, but try to look at it from a larger perspective. His point is that some actors (and he used DeNiro as an example), at some point in their career, will stop going for roles which stretch their abilities. I think this is absolutely true. Whether it is true with DeNiro is open to discussion, and that is what the discussion here should be about. He did not say DeNiro was a bad or overrated actor. Shia, at this point in his life, just doesn’t want to lose that passion of striving to be better.
There are many actors who continually perform roles that are similar — like Harrison Ford being an action hero. That doesn’t mean he is a bad actor. Other actors seem to look for roles where the characters are completely different — for example Matt Damon, Jim Carrey, and DeNiro earlier in his career. When an actor become associated with a certain character, then he becomes the character and not an actor playing a role. Shia is simply saying that he wants to continue to grow as an actor, and not become a character. I think that is a fair comment for him to make. I believe that is his point, and that using DeNiro as an example is secondary and not seen as a slight against someone who is often considered to be one of the best actors of all time — which Shia doesn’t dispute.
Silver,Sept [email protected],Very well said,I totally agree!!
It’s never a good idea to say negative things about acting royalty like De Niro. He has made some bad choices in his career like many others but to me, he will always be a legend. I don’t think that Shia decided to do Transformers 2 & 3 for the acting challenge that it gives right!! Make your money on those blockbusters now Shia, you might need it when the roles stop coming to ya.
Thank you, Gypsy.
Germain, I agree that De Niro may have made some bad choices for roles, and that he will always be a legend. I don’t think Shia’s comments disagree with that. I also agree that many of Shia’s roles probably aren’t challenging. However, many actors have gone through a transition of making a name for themselves in ‘fluff’ and then gaining respect in more serious roles, such as Jim Carrey and Steve Martin. There are few young actors who have either been fortunate enough, or smart enough (or maybe both) to land good roles from early in their careers (for example, Johnny Depp, River Phoenix, and Leonardo DiCaprio).
I don’t interpret what he said as being arrogant comments from an inexperienced kid about an icon, but rather a thought provoking observation of the different career paths of actors.
I’m not sure why so many people have taken offense to what he said. I have a lot of respect for Shia because he’s one of the few people in hollywood who doesn’t just spit out bullshit soundbites, but actually dares to speak honestly and openly. And does it in an intelligent way (which Megan Fox didn’t. And when you do that you run the risk of people taking things completely out of context or misinterpreting it. I think he’s in for a long career because, he’s got the Tom Hanks factor. He has the appeal to do the fluff stuff that makes lots of money, but he also has the talent to do the more serious roles believably. But, I think he’s also in for more harsh criticsm from people who don’t think he has a right to share his opinions in the genuine way he chooses to. I hope he’s ready for that.
Mandee, im stating what I am thinking. He shouldn’t say that about him.
Silver,very interesting thought process which makes total sense to me.I believe if the writers had not put the word criticize in the title of the article,perhaps the readers would have a different perception of what Shia was actually stating!! Again very well said!!!
Ally on September 30, 2010 11:03 PM i agree, perhaps instead of always insulting celebs you should try to just voice your opinion and it wouldnt bother people as much? i have no problems with you stating your opinion, i just think its rude that you constantly insult people youve never met.
silver, germain and gypsy, i love your comments.
Gypsy, I absolutely agree that the wording of a headline can bias a reader — it is meant to grab attention.
One other point I would like to make is that comments from celebs most often come out of lengthy interviews. However, when a single sentence is quoted from an entire conversation, it takes on a weight that is far greater than it should be in the context. When items are reported like this, it almost gives the impression the celebrity called a press conference to say this one thing only, which is absurd. I believe that both quotes from him this week (this and the one about renting his dad) came from the same print interview with the Sun. I would like to read the entire article, or even better, have sit in on the entire interview, to really get a better idea of what he is about, rather than a sensationalistic two or three sentences.
haha don’t you even compare and criticize those actors! They are way better than you you big mouthed douche bag!
You are not even a good actor you are just a lucky guy who happen to be in Transformer!
You can be comfortable when you get to bobby’s level…we all know he is as good now as he has ever been in what ever he does
it continuously amazes me how many people get their feathers ruffled on this blog when comments challenge an actor’s opinion/remarks. This blog cries out for opinion, be it in agreement OR disagreement. The constant whine “isn’t Shia, whomever, allowed to give his opinion?” blah blah, blah. go ahead, give an opinion, that’s what we’re here for, to hear opinions and give one back…
Shia’s “And I hope I will never go to the De Niro stage where I��ve gotten there and I am comfortable. Because that��s the death of an actor” I feel screams incredibly smug. He, and most newbie actors, should consider themselves lucky to ever get to “The De Niro Stage”….
personally, judging by Shia’s past stage presence, his ever sharing the De Niro Stage isn’t looking too likely…