Every actor has their way of getting into character for a film, and apparently for Shia LaBeuf, taking hard core drugs isn’t off the table. In his new film Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, LaBeouf plays a character who trips on acid. The actor told MTV at the Sundance Film Festival he was so “scared” to play a character who trips on acid because he’d “never done acid before.” So, he decided trying it out for real and filming it would help him conquer his role.
The Lawless actor stated in the interview that he tried the drug because he wanted to “be in that headspace” since his character does acid in the film. LaBeouf even sent the footage to his co-star Evan Rachel Wood and others to get their opinion on his performance.
“So I was sending tapes around. I’d get 50 percent from people, and that starts creeping me out, and I got really nervous,” LaBeouf said. “…You root for it. You don’t show up wasted. You don’t show up completely tripping on acid. But you’re rooting for something and you’re pushing yourself toward it. Everyone’s got their own way.”
In The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman LaBeouf’s character falls in love with a Hungarian girl named Gabi (Wood), although she is married to a violent crime boss. The movie will also star Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint, Oscar-winner Melissa Leo and Parks and Recreation actress Aubrey Plaza.
This may not be the first time that Shia LaBeouf did the real thing to make a movie appear authentic. It was reported LaBeouf had real sex on set of Lars von Trier’s drama Nymphomaniac, which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg — talk about getting down and dirty with a part.
Check out LaBeouf and Wood’s MTV interview below…