UNITED STATES: While appearing on Bishop Barron Presents, a YouTube series hosted by Bishop Robert Barron, Shia LaBeouf made a significant revelation.
Shia LaBeouf on converting to Catholicism
Shia LaBeouf revealed his conversion to Catholicism to Bishop Robert Barron during their interview.
The actor, whose mother is Jewish and who has previously talked about having both a bar mitzvah and a baptism as a child, disclosed that he was drawn to the Catholic faith while filming his newest movie, Padre Pio, which tells the tale of the Catholic saint of the same name.
LaBeouf, a “method actor,” resided in a monastery with Capuchin Franciscan friars while practising for the movie.
“I now understand that God drew me to Him by exploiting my ego. Guiding me away from materialistic desires, everything was happening at once,” Shia LaBeouf clarified.
He felt he had permission to convert there, and through learning more about the religion for the part, he also gained a sense of “hope” that helped him “find his way.”
“I felt like, Oh, that gives me hope,” Shia LaBeouf said.
“Seeing others who have sinned beyond anything I could ever imagine is also being found in Christ. As soon as I began hearing about other depraved individuals who had succeeded in this, it gave me the impression that I had been given permission,” Shia LaBeouf added.
His interest in the Catholic religion was sparked by more than just the movie. LaBeouf disclosed that he was in a dark place before converting to the religion and had even considered committing suicide.
“I had a gun on the table. I was out of here,” he revealed.
“I didn’t want to be alive anymore when all this happened. Shame like I had never experienced before — the kind of a shame that you forget how to breathe. You don’t know where to go. You can’t go outside and get, like, a taco. But I was also in this deep desire to hold on,” Shia LaBeouf added.
Later in the interview, the 36-year-old rejected the moniker of “method actor,” insisting that he preferred to be “immersive,” which was yet another aspect of Catholicism that appealed to him.
“I feel a whole lot; I’ve got a big heart. I don’t know if I’m a method guy — and I think some of that stuff is ridiculous,” Shia LaBeouf said.
He continued, “I like to be immersed. I enjoy all forms of immersion, not just acting. I think that’s why I enjoy Catholicism as well. I enjoy adventures because they call for total immersion.”
Instead, Shia LaBeouf referred to himself as an “immersive actor,” adding that method acting has a “bad smell” to him.
Shia LaBeouf said, “I would consider myself an immersive actor, but method acting has a bad smell to it.”
He described it as “kind of douchey, kind of, just like, mean,” saying that it gives some people a justification to “behave terribly.”
Just a few days before Shia LaBeouf’s remarks on religion, Olivia Wilde discussed the same behaviors that led to LaBeouf’s termination from the set of her newest movie, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, as a result of conflicts with the cast and crew.
Watch the whole interview here:
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