Shia LaBeouf Plays His Own Father In Raw First Trailer For Movie About His Life

Shia LaBeouf would like to reintroduce himself in the powerful first trailer for his upcoming semi-autobiographical film, “Honey Boy.” 

The actor, who wrote the script during a rehab stint after his 2017 arrest in Georgia on charges that included disorderly conduct, is pulling back the curtain on childhood traumas. LaBeouf, 33, stars as an alcoholic and abusive father to a young actor played by Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges in the film at different stages of the main character’s life. 

Directed by Alma Har’el, “Honey Boy” premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before it was scooped up by Amazon for a $5 million price tag.

In the raw and revealing trailer, we first encounter LaBeouf’s on-screen alter-ego in the midst of an explosive stunt on the set of an action movie ― likely a nod to the actor’s “Transformers” days. He soon spirals out of control in a haze of sex and substance abuse, demons LaBeouf has battled publicly in recent years as a self-identifying alcoholic. 

“It’s strange to fetishize your pain and make a product out of it,” LaBeouf told Variety about the film in February. “And you feel guilty about that. It felt very selfish. This whole thing felt very selfish. I never went into this thinking, ‘Oh let me f—ing help people.’ That wasn’t my goal. I was falling apart.”

There’s also a clear reference to his “Even Stevens” days, as the younger LaBeouf has trouble navigating Hollywood as a child star with his father breathing down his neck 

“How do you think I feel to have my son paying me?” LaBeouf’s father asks his son in the trailer. “How do you think that feels?”

The film also stars Maika Monroe, Natasha Lyonne, Byron Bowers, Laura San Giacomo, Clifton Collins Jr. and, in her feature film debut, musician FKA Twigs. 

Watch the trailer above.