Shia LaBeouf handpicks Oscar-nominated actor Lucas Hedges to play his younger self in biopic Honey Boy
Shia LaBeouf has cast Academy Award-nominated Manchester by the Sea actor Lucas Hedges to play his younger self in Honey Boy, the biopic he's written about his life and career under the moniker Otis Lort.
LaBeouf, 31, uses fictional names to tell the story of his upbringing with his father Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf, who he will play in the movie.
Hedges, a 21-year-old New York City native, is set to play LaBeouf around the early-2000s as he worked to repair the bond with his father, a registered sex offender who's dealt with alcohol issues.
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Casting move: Shia LaBeouf, 31, has cast Academy Award-nominated Manchester by the Sea actor Lucas Hedges, 21, (R) to play his younger self in his biopic Honey Boy
The movie is being produced by the company Automatik and will be directed by Alma Har’el, whose past work includes the documentaries 11/8/16, LoveTrue and Bombay Beach, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Troubled: Shia's father Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf was convicted of attempted rape in the early 1980s, and has had scattered issues in the years that followed
The premise of the film was pitched on the Black List, an online market for entertainment industry professionals, as the tale of 'a child actor and his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father [attempting] to mend their contentious relationship over the course of a decade.'
Speaking with Esquire this week, the enigmatic actor, best known for movies such as Transformers, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and American Honey, said he recalled bouncing between the set of the Disney Channel show Even Stevens and 12-step meetings as he grew up alongside his dad.
'I was going to the Alano Club with my dad,' he said. 'That was my daycare center. Then I’d go to work. That was my whole life.'
Feted: Hedges earned an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor for 2016's Manchester by the Sea alongside Casey Affleck, who went on to win the Best Actor Oscar
He told the publication last year that when he underwent rehab in 2017, he was encouraged to speak about what caused him the most anguish.
'You keep talking about it,' he said. 'You keep bringing it up, acting it out, thinking about its smell. Every which way you can get to it.
'And a lot of my s*** has to do with my relationship with my dad. That dude is my gasoline.'
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