Shia LaBeouf is no stranger to doing his own stunts. He was, after all, the star of the "Transformers" series, which packed plenty of action into a movie-length feature. But with his newest movie, "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," LaBeouf faced a language barrier when working with his stunt team and some death-defying acts that he notes required faith.
In the first scene in the film, the viewer sees LaBeouf’s character hanging by one foot over a dam with his face bloody. Shia apparently insisted that he actually be punched several times to achieve the bloody look, and that was actually him hanging by his foot over the dam as well. The scene was shot in Bucharest, Romania and LaBeouf has noted some interesting elements to the language barrier. Notes the actor, "The guy says to me, 'Listen, the danger isn't really falling into the water. You might hurt yourself, but you'll survive that. But if you swing into (a neon light in the scene), there's no way you're going to survive that. So don't swing too much.' "
He added, "You have to look them in the eye and trust them completely, like you would on a Transformers set. But it's a very different group with communication issues. Not everyone even speaks English." The film is about LaBeouf’s character, an American traveler to Bucharest, who falls in love with the girlfriend of a local mob boss, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Director Fredrik Bond said he had a hard time watching some of the stunts LaBeouf pulled off, including having his head actually slammed into a stone wall. Clearly Shia is a man who takes his acting seriously.
In the first scene in the film, the viewer sees LaBeouf’s character hanging by one foot over a dam with his face bloody. Shia apparently insisted that he actually be punched several times to achieve the bloody look, and that was actually him hanging by his foot over the dam as well. The scene was shot in Bucharest, Romania and LaBeouf has noted some interesting elements to the language barrier. Notes the actor, "The guy says to me, 'Listen, the danger isn't really falling into the water. You might hurt yourself, but you'll survive that. But if you swing into (a neon light in the scene), there's no way you're going to survive that. So don't swing too much.' "
He added, "You have to look them in the eye and trust them completely, like you would on a Transformers set. But it's a very different group with communication issues. Not everyone even speaks English." The film is about LaBeouf’s character, an American traveler to Bucharest, who falls in love with the girlfriend of a local mob boss, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Director Fredrik Bond said he had a hard time watching some of the stunts LaBeouf pulled off, including having his head actually slammed into a stone wall. Clearly Shia is a man who takes his acting seriously.