Shia LaBeouf Says He Sparred With Brad Pitt on the Set of 'Fury'

Jordan Zakarin
Updated

Shia LaBeouf admitted to punching Brad Pitt on the set of their new film Fury, though he did go a little easy on the A-list star.

Newly stable just in time for the press blitz ahead of the World War II action movie (which opens on Friday), LaBeouf told Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night that cast members sparred as a bonding exercise and that even Pitt joined in. “Every day,” said LaBeouf of the on-set fist fighting. “It bonded us. You can only get so much out in a conversation. With a bunch of boys in that setting, fighting is really intimate.”

“Hs name is Wardaddy in the movie, [but] we called him ‘Top’ the whole time because he’s top dog,” said LaBeouf who plays a part of Pitt’s tank crew in Fury. “We were all vying for his attention and we all wanted him to like us, so none of us wanted to be the one to hit him really hard.”

LaBeouf said he looks up to Pitt and loved acting alongside him, which Fury’s director David Ayer confirmed in a conversation with Yahoo Movies on Monday.

“I loved having [Shia] on set, he’d hang out all the time,” Ayer said of his young star who also chipped a tooth and cut his face for realism’s sake. “When Brad would do his scenes, Shia was off-camera, but he’d still be in the tank with him, doing everything as the gunner. He was madly dedicated, and that’s what you dream of as a director.”

Pitt himself has had similar praise for LaBeouf. In a recent interview with British GQ, Pitt praised the fiery dedication the young actor brought to set. “Oh, I love this boy. He’s one of the best actors I’ve ever seen,” Pitt said. “He’s full-on commitment, man. He’s living it like no one else, let me tell you.”

As for that cast sparring, Ayer echoed what LaBeouf told Kimmel (but what you should not tell your children): Fighting someone is the best way to get to know them.

“A buddy of mine, a martial arts black belt, he trains all my actors,” Ayer explained. “I think it speeds up bonding more than anything. If you really want to know what someone’s about, fight them. You’ll learn more about their personality in five minutes than you will in five weeks of conversation.”