What It's Really Like To Work With Shia LaBeouf

What It's Really Like To Work With Shia LaBeouf

One thing every cast member in "Fury" seems able to agree on is Shia LaBeouf. The actor, who has used the release of David Ayer's World War II movie to openly discuss his June arrest in New York for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass during a performance of "Cabaret," plays a Bible-quoting tank gunner in the film, and was so committed to the project that he even pulled out his own tooth, frequently cut his face and reportedly didn't regularly bathe.

"Shia kind of set the bar for everybody else in a way," Logan Lerman, who co-stars in "Fury," said during Monday's AOL BUILD about the film. "He was the most committed actor I've ever worked with. He was there at all times. There were moments when he didn't have to be on set. He was there every single day working harder than everyone else. His commitment kept everybody spirits up too. The fact that he was giving so much, we wanted to give as much as him."

Lerman's comments echo what star Brad Pitt said in a recent interview with the U.K. edition of GQ magazine. "Oh, I love this boy," Pitt said of LaBeouf. "He's one of the best actors I've ever seen. He's full-on commitment, man. He's living it like no one else, let me tell you. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of great actors. He's one of the best I've seen."

"Shia is a wonderfully complex, brilliant and committed artist," Ayer said back in January when rumors first arose about LaBeouf's onset behavior. "I could not be more pleased with our working relationship."

Asked about LaBeouf this week, Ayer only had more positive things to relay: LaBeouf embedded himself with a National Guard unit to prepare for the part, and even shadowed an army chaplain to better understand how theology plays into wartime situations.

"The Crazy Shia stories are fun, but it's not who he's about or what he is," Ayer said on Monday. "That's something he engineered. You have a guy who's a child actor who wants to be recognized for what he is, which is an incredibly talented and mature actor."

Watch Ayer, Lerman and co-star Jon Bernthal discuss LaBeouf in the AOL BUILD video above; the full interview is below:

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