Shia LaBeouf in Parade: Actors Are Heartbroken Bottom-Feeders

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has just opened in certain theaters and is already doing serious damage at the box-office (with estimates making it the biggest movie of the year), but the stars who appear in it don’t seem really that impressed with what the franchise is doing for their career. After Megan Fox said actors are all fakes, it’s now Shia LaBeouf speaking ill of the profession in his most recent interview with Parade magazine.

At just 23 and already an international star and, some say, icon, Shia feels overwhelmed about what is happening to him. The feeling of confusion is even greater when he thinks that actors, at the end of the day, are the next thing to the lowest scum: heartless and opportunist could actually be the middle names of all great thespians, LaBeouf believes. As for seeing himself as an actor, he still has a long way to go before that happens.

“The good actors are all screwed up. They’re all in pain. It’s a profession of bottom-feeders and heartbroken people.” LaBeouf tells Parade. “Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions. I don’t understand what it is I do that people want. I don’t know what an actor does. I have no credentials. I don’t know what I’m doing. To my mind, talent doesn’t really exist. Talent is like a card player’s luck. It is motivation, ambition, and luck. It’s just a drive to be the best. I think acting is a con game.” the “Transformers” star further says of his take on what makes him so popular.

Speaking of popularity, Shia is just as surprised as Megan Fox that he has come to know such high levels of fame, especially since he’s done almost nothing in this sense. At the same time, Shia reveals, he feels scared that it might all go away come next day or that people would suddenly wake up and decide he’s not as hot as they first believed. Another thing working against him is that he doesn’t know how to deal with fame and work the media to his disadvantage, but this only pushes him to try to make an impression with his acting, the star further explains.

“I don’t handle fame well. Most actors on most days don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my way. […] I know I’m one of the luckiest dudes in America right now. I have a great house. My parents don’t have to work. I’ve got money. I’m famous. But it could all change, man. It could go away. You never know.” LaBeouf adds in the same interview.