Shia LaBeouf Gets Massive Chest Tattoo for Film Role, Going ‘All In’

Shia LaBeouf went “all in” for his role as Creeper in the upcoming film The Tax Collector, said David Ayer, the director of the buzzworthy crime thriller, who revealed that the actor got a full chest tattoo to get into the role. Ayer spoke to Slashfilm about how dedicated the 34-year-old actor is to his craft, calling him one of the most “committed” people he’s ever worked with.

“He’s one of the best actors I’ve worked with, and he’s the most committed to body and soul,” Ayer told the outlet. “He had a tooth pulled on Fury and then on Tax Collector, he got his whole chest tattooed. So he kind of goes all in, and I’ve never known anyone that committed.”

LaBeouf’s massive chest piece features the name Creeper written in massive letters, as well as a woman’s face. Tattoo artist Bryan Ramirez shared an up-close look at the actor’s ink back in February 2019, which he said he first started working on back when LaBeouf starred in the 2003 film Holes.

Ramirez wrote at the time that while he gets a lot of questions about whether LaBeouf’s tattoos are real, the two had been working together since the former Disney star was filming Holes. “On going sessions on this chest piece thanks for the trust on such a meaningful tattoo of your mom and pops stay tuned for the movies this guys got coming this year can’t wait to see much love homie,” he added.

LaBeouf admitted in a November 2019 interview with Jimmy Kimmel that he thought his acting career was over after his 2017 arrest for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and obstruction, which he followed with a stay in rehab. Speaking about the creation of his movie Honey Boy, the actor said, “I wasn’t planning on making a movie. I thought the actor thing was over. I signed up to go to the Peace Corps and then went into this rehab facility and was there for two months.”

After entering therapy and getting help for early childhood trauma, LaBeouf wrote the screenplay for Honey Boy, he told Esquire. “I’d written this thing and plans changed. When I got out I wasn’t going to do the Peace Corps no more,” he said. “They were very peaceful about it.” He went on to thank the police officer for arresting him and changing his life, as well as his therapist and sponsor for “saving [his] life.”