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Shia LaBeouf looks unrecognisable playing his own ‘alcohol-abusing’ dad on set of new film Honey Boy

The 31-year-old star wrote the screenplay about his life as a child actor and his shaky relationship with his father during a rehab stint

HOLLYWOOD star Shia LaBeouf looked unrecognisable yesterday as he appeared as a character based on his father for new indie film Honey Boy.

Pictured on set in Los Angeles, the 31-year-old picked up garbage by the side of the road dressed in denim overalls, work boots and a high-vis vest while wearing a mullet wig with a receding hairline.

 Shia LaBeouf looked unrecognisable on the set of Honey Boy
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Shia LaBeouf looked unrecognisable on the set of Honey BoyCredit: BackGrid

The film is said to be loosely based around the relationship between the Transformers star and his father growing up.

Dad Jeffrey LaBeouf trained as a clown, once opened for the Doobie Brothers, served three tours in Vietnam and is believed to have struggled with a heroin addiction.

LaBeouf wrote the screenplay about his life as a child actor during a ten-week court-ordered rehab stint.

He said: "I was going to the Alano Club [a 12 step programme] with my dad. That was my daycare centre."

 The star wore denim overalls and a high-vis jacket for the role
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The star wore denim overalls and a high-vis jacket for the roleCredit: Goff Photos
 The 31-year-old was spotted in a mullet wig with a receding hairline
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The 31-year-old was spotted in a mullet wig with a receding hairlineCredit: Goff Photos
 Shia, pictured with his father Jeffrey, has said his dad is the reason he became an actor
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Shia, pictured with his father Jeffrey, has said his dad is the reason he became an actorCredit: Splash News

The plot of Honey Boy - a nickname used by Jeffrey for his son - is said to be about a child actor's attempt to mend his relationship with his "law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father" over the course of a decade, according to

Speaking LaBeouf said: "My dad handed me a lot, and his legacy was an emotional one. And it wasn’t scarring. He handed me texture. My dad blessed me that way."

The actor also spoke of living with his father as his career took off as a young teen on Even Stevens.

In order to be closer to the set, he left his mother's house and moved in with his father at a $40-a-night motel.

At the time his father had completed rehab and was his on-set guardian.

 The film is set to loosely chronicle LaBeouf's relationship with his father
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The film is set to loosely chronicle LaBeouf's relationship with his fatherCredit: Goff Photos
 In one of the scenes Shia collects garbage by the roadside
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In one of the scenes Shia collects garbage by the roadsideCredit: Goff Photos
 In another scene, LaBeouf smokes on a hillside on set
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In another scene, LaBeouf smokes on a hillside on setCredit: Goff Photos
 He also rides a motorbike for the role he wrote while completing rehab
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He also rides a motorbike for the role he wrote while completing rehabCredit: Goff Photos
 The character, called James Lort, is a 'law-breaking, alcohol-abusing' father
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The character, called James Lort, is a 'law-breaking, alcohol-abusing' fatherCredit: Goff Photos

He said: "I was going to the Alano Club [a 12 step programme] with my dad. That was my daycare centre. Then I'd go to work. That was my whole life."

He also spoke about his father being the reason he "became an actor".

"A lot of my s*** has to do with my relationship with my dad... That dude is my gasoline.”


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