It turns out the most dramatic battles on the set of Fury weren't the ones being filmed. Scott Eastwood has spoken candidly about how he almost got into a physical fight with co-star Shia LaBeouf during production of the 2014 World War II drama — and it was Brad Pitt who had to pull them apart.
Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast with host Dax Shepard, Eastwood recalled his growing unease with LaBeouf's extreme method acting approach, which included pulling out one of his own teeth and cutting his face before filming had even begun.
"I remember thinking, 'OK, this guy's crazy. I'm just gonna keep clear from this guy. I don't play this game. You go and do that — but there's plenty of ways to do a performance in a movie and be professional also.'"
'Enough Is Enough'
Despite his efforts to steer clear, tensions eventually boiled over. Eastwood said the flashpoint came when LaBeouf objected to him spitting tobacco on the tank during a scene — an action Eastwood insists was written into the script. That, he said, was the moment he'd had enough.
"I said, 'Fuck you. Stop pulling your shit. I'm gonna whoop your ass.' And then he got froggy, and everyone broke it up."
Eastwood, who played Sergeant Miles in the film, noted that Pitt intervened to defuse the situation. While he stopped short of going into further detail about what happened next, the picture he painted was vivid enough. Representatives for LaBeouf had not responded to the comments at the time of publication.
Bad Behaviour Is Bad Behaviour
Eastwood, 40, didn't limit his remarks to the specific incident. Speaking more broadly about working in film, he offered a pointed reflection on the culture that allows difficult behaviour to persist on set.
"It's funny. The film industry attracts psychopaths because it's art and business and they kind of intersect," he said. "Bad behaviour is bad behaviour. People deserve to be respected. Doesn't matter if you're picking up a piece of trash or if you're saying the lines or if you're holding the camera. Everybody has the same respect."
Directed by David Ayer, Fury also starred Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Peña, Jason Isaacs, and Brad Henke. The film followed the crew of an American tank fighting through Nazi Germany in the final weeks of the Second World War's European theatre.
LaBeouf's Recent Legal Troubles
Eastwood's comments arrive amid renewed scrutiny of LaBeouf, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to battery charges following an alleged altercation outside a bar in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. He received a six-month suspended sentence and two years' probation on three counts of simple battery.
Following the incident, LaBeouf addressed it publicly but did not apologise. In a subsequent interview with Channel 5 News, he made remarks about gay people that drew widespread criticism. The actor has previously spoken about struggles with alcoholism and past run-ins with the law.
Eastwood, meanwhile, is currently promoting his new war action film Lucky Strike — and apparently had a few old stories worth telling along the way. Catch up on more celebrity news at Daily Insight.
