Laughy-Daffy

Background:

"People classify me as a laughy-daffy Disney kid." Shia LaBeouf
Young actor Shia LaBeouf is best remembered for his Emmy-winning role as Louis Stevens in the popular Disney Channel series “Even Stevens” (2000-2003). He later graced the silver screen in such films as Holes (2003), Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and The Battle of Shaker Heights (also in 2003). LaBeouf recently appeared in 2004’s I, Robot, 2005’s Constantine, and starred in The Greatest Game Ever Played. He will play a role in the upcoming film A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and will lend his voice to the animated movie Surf's Up.
Being asked about girls he likes, the 5' 10½” tall budding actor, who wears contact lenses and a size-11 shoe, said, "I like the dark, mysterious, maybe even gothic type girls. They have to have a good personality too! I'm very picky!"


Rap Pi

Childhood and Family:

The only child of a Cajun circus clown (Jeffrey LaBeouf) and mother Shayna LaBeouf (Russian-Jewish), Shia Shaide LaBeouf (named after his comedian grandfather) was born on June 11, 1986, in Los Angeles, California. After his parents divorce, LaBeouf followed his mother to Los Angeles.
"I turned down a scholarship to Yale. The problem with college is that there's a tendency to mistake preparation for productivity. You can prepare all you want, but if you never roll the dice you'll never be successful." Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf, nicknamed Rap Pi (hip-hop name), once attended a magnet school where he was the only white student. He also studied at the Hamilton Academy of Music in Los Angeles, California. In 2003, LaBeouf graduated high school and reportedly turned down a scholarship to Yale University.
Shia LaBeouf celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah. He enjoys playing the drums and making independent short films with his friends. He is involved with Joe Torry's Give Back to the Children's Fund.


The Greatest Game Ever Played

Career:

"The truth is that there's a difference between an actor and a personality. A personality is Ben Affleck, whereas Matt Damon is a real actor. He doesn't need to be with J. Lo to have a career." Shia LaBeouf
Doing standup comedy around his neighborhood by age 12, Shia LaBeouf was bit be the acting bug after watching a friend on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993). He booked his own agent through the yellow pages and joined auditions before he turned 14.
LaBeouf appeared as a guest in an episode of "Caroline in the City" in December of 1998. He landed roles in 1998 with Paulette Victor-Lifton's Monkey Business and Bernard Salzmann's The Christmas Path. He was also seen in the comedy television feature directed by Craig Shapiro, Breakfast with Einstein, alongside Thomas Gottschalk and Priscilla Presley. LaBeouf subsequently played guest roles in such shows as "Caroline in the City," "Jesse," "Suddenly Susan," "Touched by an Angel" and "The X Files."
The new millennium awarded LaBeouf with the breakout role of Louis Anthony Stevens, a clever, but lazy young teenager, in the award-winning Disney Channel hit series "Even Stevens." The family comedy series centered on the misadventures of the Stevens family and was directed by Peter Baldwin and David Brookwell. Other cast members included Christy Carlson Romano, Nick Spano, Donna Pescow and Tom Virtue, and the show stayed on cable for three seasons (2000-2003). The warmly-received show earned LaBeouf a Young Artist Award nomination for his starring role in 2000 and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series in 2003.
During his stint in the show, LaBeouf also acted in two Disney Channel movies. He costarred opposite Tahj Mowry in Neal Israel-directed Hounded (2001) and with Clara Bryant in Paul Hoen's adaptation of Janet Tashjian's novel, Tru Confessions (2002).
2003 saw LaBeouf star as a wrongfully convicted boy sent to a detention camp in Andrew Davis’ comedy feature Holes (with Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voight), based on the multimillion best-seller book by Louis Sacher. That same year, LaBeouf was cast in Troy Miller's comedy Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (starring Eric Christian Olsen and Derek Richardson) and playing Bosley's protégé in the blockbuster action hit sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu).
Also in 2003, LaBeouf starred as Kelly Ernswiler, a high school senior, in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's drama comedy feature The Battle of Shaker Heights. The uniquely funny portrait of modern youth under siege won the second Project Greenlight screenwriting contest and was produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. As for his “Even Stevens” show, LaBeouf reprised his role in its film-length finale The Even Stevens Movie, directed by Sean McNamara.
More recent, LaBeouf could be seen in Alex Proyas' action thriller inspired by the classic short story collection by Isaac Asimov, I, Robot (2004, starring Will Smith). Filmmaker Francis Lawrence also gave him a role in his big screen version of Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis' comic book "Hellblazer," Constantine (2005, starring Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz). Behind the screen, along with fellow actor and best friend Lorenzo Eduardo, LaBeouf directed and co-wrote the 6-minute drama Let's Love Hate (2004) and started the hip-hop group/record label Element, and a film production company. He also performed alongside hip-hop MC G-Money at the Viper Room on January 2005.
"Every golf film before ours was garbage, except for 'Caddyshack' and 'Billy Madison,' which were parodies. Movie golf was boring to me. It didn't look interesting at all. A big part missing from the other movies was the mental aspect. They just filmed golf rather than film the mind of a golfer like we did." Shia LaBeouf
LaBeouf recently nabbed the lead role of real-life, 20-year-old amateur golfer Francis Ouimet, who defeated his idol, the defending British champion Vardon (played by Stephen Dillane) at the 1913 U.S. Open, in Bill Paxton's golf movie inspired by Mark Frost's book, The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). Being asked about his role in the film, LaBeouf commented, "Francis Ouimet was the first man to bring golf to regular people. He was like Jackie Robinson. He completely revolutionized golf. Now it isn't a hobby for the rich; it's an American sport. He was the first to do that, and probably the only one who didn't profit off of his sport, because he was an amateur. He did more for golf than any athlete has ever done for his sport."
LaBeouf is currently busy filming writer-director Dito Montiel's upcoming film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (with Robert Downey Jr. and Rosario Dawson) and will provide his voice as up-and-comer Cody Maverick in Ash Brannon and Chris Buck's animated movie, a behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, Surf's Up. He is also speculated to play the role of Jimmy in the new Superman Movie (2006).
"I'll tell you when I become one." Shia LaBeouf (when asked about what it's like to be a celebrity).


Awards:

Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series, “Even Stevens,” 2003.