Shia LaBeouf Unrecognizable as Transformed Version of His Own Dad in 'Honey Boy' Trailer

Shia LaBeouf's new film Honey Boy just debuted its first trailer, and the 33-year-old actor looks [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Shia LaBeouf's new film Honey Boy just debuted its first trailer, and the 33-year-old actor looks nearly unrecognizable as a transformed version of his own dad. The film — which was written by LaBeouf — is a fictionalized depiction of his own life, telling his story from being a child actor, through his struggles during his teen years, and into his controversial and tumultuous adulthood. In the movie, LaBeouf plays a character similar to his own father, Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf. For the film, LaBeouf is aged many years older, and is wearing a hair piece that is long in the back and thinning on top. This is hairstyle is occasionally referred to as a "skullet" (skull + mullet).

In the role of the fictional LaBeouf is actor Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased, Mid90s), playing Otis Lort. The younger verison of Otis is played by Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, Wonder). LaBeouf's character is named James Lort.

Other stars of the film include Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black), Martin Starr (Silicon Valley), Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me), Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim), and singer FKA Twigs.

The trailer also sees LaBeouf delivering a powerful performance, as he erratically bounces back-and-forth between being supportive of his son, and also overwhelming critical.

LaBeouf has not been shy about the fact that his relationship with his parents, particularly his father, has not always been easy. He once described his father as "tough as nails and a different breed of man."

In past interviews, he has opened up about his father suffering from Vietnam War flashbacks, as well as heavy drug use. During one terrible flashback, LaBeouf shared that his father even pointed a gun at him.

Over the years, the two men grew apart, but have recently begun reconnecting, with THR reporting that after the Honey Boy premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, LaBeouf said, "Prior to this my father and me hadn't spoken in six, seven years. We are talking now. I talked to him before I came in here."

While doing a Q&A at Sundance, LaBeouf was asked how writing and acting in the film affected him, to which he replied, "It is strange to fetishize your pain and make a product out of it and feel guilty about that. It felt very selfish. This whole thing felt very selfish. I never went into this thinking, 'Oh, I am going to f—ing help people.' That wasn't my goal. I was falling apart."

Honey Boy is directed by Alma Har'el and produced by Amazon Studios. It is scheduled to open in theaters on Nov. 8.

Photo Credit: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

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