Shia LaBeouf Talks About Making THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON, His Incredible Co-Star, and How the Film Saved His Life
The Peanut Butter Falcon was my favorite movie so far this year. The film stars Zack Gottsagen, an actor with down syndrome, as a young man who escapes from the retirement home he lives in to set out on an adventure to find the wrestling studio of his hero, the wrestler he has idolized for years, in hopes of learning the sport. On the way, he meets up with a character played by Shia LaBeouf, a wanted man on the run from his own problems. They form a bond and seem to save each other on their journey. The same can be said for the pair of friends in reality.
In a recent interview by Channel 4 news, the actors discussed the film and playing the roles alongside one another. While referencing an incident that occurred while shooting in Georgia, where LaBeouf was arrested for public drunkenness, he recounted that the morning after, he came to set and couldn’t look anyone in the eye. They were shooting a scene where the two men were on a boat, and talking about painful memories in their past. LaBeouf said of the experience:
The day after I got arrested, we were on a boat. I couldn’t really look at anybody in the eyes. I was sitting next to him and he put his hand on my shoulder and like nursed me back, on a boat, during the scene where we’re talking about the painful past. That stuff hurts, you know, that stuff hurt to go through and to film.
When asked if this was a difficult day for him as well, Gottsagen added:
Shia was doing a lot of bad things, and going on about what he does. But for me, I was not very happy about it, but for me, I was sad, and cried. But Im still going to take the chance for myself, to give Shia one chance to prove to himself to never, never, never do this kind of stuff again.
The interviewer then asked LaBeouf, “So this film sort of saved you? Is that too dramatic to say?” And LaBeouf replied, “No, that’s not too dramatic to say.” LaBeouf also described his experience working with his co-star by saying:
It softened me. Cause the kid in me died, and I just got over all this. This rollercoaster wasn’t fun after a while. You ride the same rollercoaster, it just loses its appeal. Then you go on it with somebody who hasn’t been on it before and somehow, it sparks back up.
It sounds like this was a very positive experience for LaBeouf, both personally and as an actor. The film was so personal and real, and the actors were telling their story so subtly and quietly. It was a beautiful movie I will watch again and again. If you haven’t gotten the chance to see this movie, do yourself a favor, and check it out.