Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe
Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 12:34PM by Murtada
The bad boy of movies is playing the bad boy of tennis. Is this a case of too on the nose casting? What matters of course is if Shia LaBeouf can approximate John McEnroe’s look convincingly. Looks like it. The fro helps.
However it seems that LaBeouf is trying to reform that bad boy image. To promote Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, which comes out later this month, LeBeouf gave a long interview to Variety. In it he might have come up with the best rebuttal for Jared Leto’s recent shenanigans about being committed to the craft. LaBeouf said that he doesn’t think of himself as a method actor anymore:
“The word is getting embarrassing. You don’t hear about female method actors. The whole thing has turned into weird, false masculinity shit.”
Indeed. Could it be that Shia finally said exactly what everyone wants to hear? Good on you, Shia.
The movie, Borg vs.McEnroe, is a sorta Scandinavian affair. Also starring Swedish actors Sverrir Gudnason as Bjorn Borg and Stellan Skarsgard as his coach, the director is Danish Janus Metz Pedersen (HBO’s True Detective). Currently shooting in Prague, it will trace the battle for tennis supremacy in the 70s and 80s between McEnroe and Borg. No release date is set yet but expect it sometime next year.
What do you think of Shia's look and his recent comments?
Reader Comments (9)
Yeah, and then he kind of threw Steven Spielberg under the bus with some "oof" comments. Credit given for speaking his mind; credit then taken away (and then some) for blasting one of the greats.
In a side note that only I probably care about, I don't think that Shia is left-handed; so how are they gonna make THAT work?
Why doesn't he say he took too many cheques for poor movies that's his beef.
Perfect casting.... they are/were both "bad boys" of their profession ...
That ain't no 'fro (on either of them)...
@ Guest: Looks like they didn't care, because in the photos, Shia and McEnroe are clearly playing with opposite arms...although Mac's leftieness was not insignificant...
@Paul Outlaw
You're as right as McEnroe's left and as Lebouf is so wrong about Spielberg. Hope the dud gets massacrated by the REAL McEnroe.
Guest and chofer: Except you kind of have to temper your understanding of Shia's criticism of Spielberg by remembering that Shia only really knows him based on being in Indiana Jones 4. Of course you'd have a really bad opinion of him if you were working on that.
Spielberg was actually the executive producer on the Transformers movies and EagleEye, too.
I have no qualms with casting actors of a certain reputation in roles that reflect that. I think it can add immeasurably to a film. However, I'm more concerned with the Emma Stone tennis movie than this one.
People who act are actors whether they are male or female. For example, Jane Fonda, Al Pacino, etc, are method actors, and so were Geraldine Page, Colleen Dewhurst, Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, etc. etc. LaBeouf is either stupid or sexist, or maybe he just thinks he's clever. But I still like the dork. He's a great method actor.
McEnroe = tennis genius !