'I got a Napoleonic complex. I start drinking and I feel smaller than I am': Shia LaBeouf reveals he has not drunk for almost a year - but says he got certain roles due to booze problem

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He was infamously arrested after slapping Alan Cumming's bottom and causing a ruckus at a Broadway performance of Cabaret in 2014.

And Shia LaBeouf has admitted he has quit drinking due to the fact it sends him 'haywire' and almost 'f***ed up' his life.

The Transformers star also admits he has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as he tries to get a grip on his problem, though he refuses to label himself an addict.

Pictured left, this booking photo was released by the City of Austin after Shia LaBeouf's arrest in October 2015. Pictured right, LaBeouf attends the screening of 'American Honey' at the annual 69th Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 15, 2016

That took bottle: Shia LaBeouf admitted he has been attending AA meetings in a new interview

The 30-year-old told Variety: 'You don’t touch it. Alcohol or any of that s*** will send you haywire. I can’t f–k with none of it. I’ve got to keep my head low.

'That s*** almost f***ed up my life.

Opening up: Shia spoke about his troubles in the new issue of Variety

'I got a Napoleonic complex. I start drinking and I feel smaller than I am, and I get louder than I should. It’s just not for me, dude.' 

And the multimillionaire said he turned to the bottle around the same time he suffered a run of poor reviews following turns in Transformers, Wall Street 2 and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Shia, who is worth an estimated $10million, said: 'Part of it was posturing. I never knew how to drink. I never liked to drink, but I knew you had to drink.'

Indeed he appeared to credit his A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints co-star Robert Downey Jr, who became infamous for his drink and drug-fuelled antics in the late 90s, for inspiring him to take up boozing.

The volatile actor, who is currently in Prague filming a movie in which he plays a young John McEnroe, said: 'It was a weird post-modern fascination with the f***-ups.

'When I met Robert Downey Jr, I was like, "Man, you got all this f***ing texture. How do I do this? How do I build texture?"'

Napoleonic complex: Shia admitted he suffers from classic small man syndrome when drunk

Bad boy: Shia was arraigned at a NYC court after slapping Alan Cumming's bottom and drunkenly causing a ruckus at a 2014 Broadway performance of Cabaret

Sensitive Shia also complained that it is impossible to follow the advice of his one-time mentor Steven Spielberg, who told him not to read his own press.

He whined: 'There’s no way to not do that. For me to not read that means I need to not take part in society.

'It was easier for actors before the Internet. The generation previous to mine didn’t have the immediate response.

Inspiration? Shia seemed to suggest he took up drinking in an attempt to get some of the Iron Man star's 'f***ing texture'

Bizarre behavior: He famously wore a paper bag on his head at the Nymphomaniac premiere in Germany back in 2014

'If you were Mark Hamill, you could lie to yourself. You could find the pockets of joy, and turn a blind eye to the sh-t over there.'

But he believes his drinking did have a positive side, as it helped him land edgier roles. He said: 'I don’t think I’d be working with the directors I’ve been working with if I had not f–ked up a bit.

'They wanted a f***ing fireball. They wanted a loose cannon. I’m learning how to distill my "crazy" into something manageable, that I can shape and deliver on the day.'

It appears the new, more mature Shia, who is now engaged to his English girlfriend Mia Goth, still has plenty of rough edges.

Settling down: Shia is now engaged to his English partner Mia Goth

For he attacked both Stephen Spielberg and Michael Bay, men who made him an international star. 

Speaking of the much-maligned Bay, he said: 'Mike is an artist. People don’t realize how dope that dude is.' 

'He’s got to get a little ballsier with his moves. He’s trying to toe the line and be James Cameron, but James Camerons are dying.

'I don’t know what he’s chasing, but that version of director is dead. If Mike is to sustain, he’s got to get f***ing weird.'

However he reserved his harshest words for the legendary ET director, who he worked under on Crystal Skull, and who also executive produced Transformers and Eagle Eye.

Friendly criticism: Shia slated his old director Michael Bay for 'trying to toe the line'

An artist in disguise: Despite his most famous work being Transformers Shia says Bay is 'dope'

He said: 'You get there, and you realize you’re not meeting the Spielberg you dream of.

'You’re meeting a different Spielberg, who is in a different stage in his career. He’s less a director than he is a f***ing company.'

And he passed the buck for Crystal Skull's dismal critical showing, saying: 'I prepped for a year and a half, and then the movie comes out, and it’s your fault. That s*** hurt bad.'

Biting the hand that feeds him: He said Steven Spielberg is 'less a director than he is a f***ing company'

Passing the buck: And he insisted he was not the reason Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull was so bad