Shia LaBeouf - Biography

An up-and-comer groomed in kid-friendly television but possessed of intriguing edges, Shia LaBeouf made a big impression as a teen with his likeable young Everyman quality and quickly graduated to prominent roles in major feature films. The son of a hippie-esque Cajun stand-up comic/rodeo clown-turned -artist who once opened for the Doobie Brothers and an Jewish, earth mothery former ballerina who separated when he was ten, LaBeouf lightened his familys tensions with silly comedy routines that fueled his desire to perform. At age 11, he found (on his own) an agent who lent his family money for head shots and joined an improv group, performing shockingly off-color comedy on the stage at the Icehouse in Pasadena.

After parts in early telefilms such as Breakfast With Einstien (1998), by 13 he was cast as younger brother Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens (2000-2003) after reportedly telling other young actors waiting to audition that the part had already been cast; the role would result in a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for the young star. His subsequent TV movies include "Hounded (2001), "Tru Confessions" (20022) in which he played a teen with cerebral palsy, and the inevitable Even Stevens Movie (2003).

In his debut film feature, "Holes" (2003) he played Stanley Yelnats IV, the hero of the popular youth bestseller by Louis Sachar who finds himself in a juvenile detention camp where the warden (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistants Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and Mr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) order the inmates to dig large holes as a character-building exercise. The young charges learn that what they really are doing is putting their backs into a dig for Old West artifacts that will profit their captors. The film was a surprise smash hit with young audiences, while LaBoeufs big-screen profile was raised with appearances in several movies released the following summer, including Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) and the role of Bosleys protégée Max in Charlies Angels 2: Full Throttle (2003).

Viewers following the second season of HBOs lets-make-a-movie series Project Greenlight were able to follow LaBeoufs next major acting stint, as Kelly Ernswiler, a teen fond of war re-enactments in the suburb Shaker Heights, Ohio, who fantasy driven confidence pushes him to take chances with romance but also face some coming-of-age truths in The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003). Not only was the actors dedication to his craft visible in the documentary series, his charismatic performance was the central merit of the finished film. LaBeouf went on to score charismatic supporting roles in major action blockbusters including "I, Robot" (2004) and "Constantine" (2005).