The actor who made headlines for pretending to be a National Guardsman and having a nervous breakdown in Manhattan is set to play a Marine suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Shia LaBeouf, who played major roles in films such as Fury and Transformers, is the star of the pending 2016 film Man Down. The new film is focused on a PTSD-afflicted Marine who “embarks on a desperate search to find his wife and son in post-apocalyptic America.”
While LaBeouf playing a role in a military-themed movie is not unusual, the character actor has developed a reputation for misrepresenting himself in regards to military service- and losing his mind in the process.
LaBeouf made headlines last year after being arrested in Austin, Texas, for public intoxication and jaywalking, going so far as to claim he was in the National Guard to get out of being arrested.
The actor even told media outlets in interviews that he had “joined the US National Guard…and became a chaplain’s assistant to Captain Yates for the 41st Infantry.” The incident was dismissed by Fury director David Ayer who said that LaBeouf misspoke, using the term “joined” much in the manner of “embedded with.”
“He was all in. He went and embedded himself with the National Guard unit, he started prep before anybody. He shadowed a military chaplain, learned how to minister to troops, scripture, he really went in deep in these incredible ways,” Ayer said.
However, LaBeouf’s streak of infamy did not begin with the supposedly innocent case of Stolen Valor. In 2014, he reportedly baffled crowds in Manhattan with bizarre and disorderly conduct on multiple occasions, including chasing down a homeless man and a supposed breakdown that lead to his arrest at the Studio 54 theatre.
According to the Daily Mail, “Officers told the Post that LaBeouf was ‘incoherent and agitated’. One said that the actor smelled bad and told lies about having served in the military.”
While detained, he reportedly began a made-up rap song, repeating “I want to go out. I want to go out.”
In February 2005, LaBeouf was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with assault with a deadly weapon for driving into his neighbor’s car, reportedly after being upset over having to wait his turn to get into his garage. He later showed up with what was described as a kitchen knife.
If “wild-eyed and crazy” was the look Man Down director Dito Montiel wanted for the role of the main character, they may have hit a homerun with LaBeouf.
While Man Down was scheduled for a October 2015 release, the film is now set to hit theaters on December 2nd of this year.
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