Career Highlights

• Won a Daytime Emmy for his role as Louis Stevens in Disney's "Even Stevens."
• Started both a hip-hop record label, Element, and a film production company, Grassy Slope Films.
• Won second place, along with Lorenzo Eduardo, in the Chicago International Children's Film Festival for the short movie Let's Love Hate.
• Had minor roles in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, I, Robot, Constantine, and Bobby
• Accepted to Yale University, but did not attend to pursue acting

Career Overview

Award-winning American actor and comedian Shia LaBeouf had a difficult childhood and has been quoted saying the only reason he started acting was because his family was broke. At age 10 he began performing stand up comedy routines in cafes and clubs but realized the money was in acting. At age 12 he scored small guest appearances on shows such as Caroline in the City, The X-Files and Touched by an Angel. LaBeouf’s first role in a series came in 2000 with The Disney Channel’s Even Stevens for which he earned an Emmy. LaBeouf played one of the lead roles and the show aired for three years. He also appeared in three other Disney Channel made-for-TV movies during that time.

LaBeouf made his film debut in 2003 when he starred in Holes alongside names like opposite Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Tim Blake Nelson. His performance in Holes caught the eye of Steven Spielberg who was very impressed and has suggested LaBeouf for many roles since then. LaBeouf made his transition from teen roles in 2005’s The Greatest Game Ever Played and went on to score the lead roles in Disturbia and Transformers. The following year he starred in Eagle Eye, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as Indiana’s son, and in 2009 reprised his role as Sam Witwicky in the Transformers sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

LaBeouf not only started his own production company, Grassy Slope Films, but also his own hip-hop record label, Element. He is making his directorial debut in 2009 with rapper Cage’s music video for the single “I Never Knew You.” Other upcoming projects include the romantic comedy New York, I Love You and lead roles in the adaptation of John Grisham’s The Associate and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.

Our Interview

Shia Labeouf joins ThinkTalk host Lila Merideth to discuss his role in The Greatest Game Ever Played and answer questions from ThinkTalk viewers. Students asked Shia questions regarding his ability to remember his lines, his leap from television to movies and his advice for aspiring actors.