Entertainment

Put your mind to it. Work diligently. Stay honest and stay out of trouble. Just do all that, and you're sure to achieve Hollywood success.

JACK PLUNKETT/The Associated Press

Actor Shia LaBeouf was in Austin for the South by Southwest film festival, where his newest movie, Disturbia, was shown.

Stop laughing. It worked for Shia LaBeouf.

From humble beginnings as a foulmouthed, preteen stand-up comedian, the Los Angeles native worked his way steadily through Disney television ( Even Stevens), Disney movies (Holes, The Greatest Game Ever Played) and sidekick-to-stars stuff (with Will Smith in I, Robot and Keanu Reeves in Constantine).

Now Mr. LaBeouf, who turns 21 in June, is a main attraction in three big movies: the teenage voyeur thriller Disturbia, opening today; the June talking-penguin cartoon Surf's Up; and July's special-effects extravaganza, Transformers, a live-action version of the goofy TV show-toy line directed by blast master Michael Bay and executive produced, as was Disturbia, by Steven Spielberg.

"I'm very fortunate," notes the intense but refreshingly unpretentious Mr. LaBeouf. "I mean, when you start [in] this business, the pinnacles are, like, meeting Spielberg, working with [Martin] Scorsese, winning an Oscar, doing Saturday Night Live (he's hosting Saturday), things like that. And, at 20, some of those things are off my list. It's jarring; it's very weird. Hasn't gotten normal; it's very strange."

Hard to imagine what Mr. LaBeouf considers normal. Growing up poor, young Shia – Cajun on his father's side, Jewish on his mother's – had few playmates among his Latino neighbors and his classmates at a predominantly African-American school (he eventually became tight with guys he got into fights with, and they remain among his closest buddies to this day).

The peewee comedy thing was both an escape from a hostile environment and a practical move. "When I first got in, it was primarily a financial decision," he says. "We were pretty broke."

Mr. LaBeouf maintains a remarkably pragmatic view of his career. Though Surf's Up and Transformers look to be much bigger films than the modest Rear Window rehash Disturbia, he makes no bones about which matters the most.

"Disturbia is the most important one for me personally, selfishly," Mr. LaBeouf says. "Because this is really a performance movie. People are going to see Transformers regardless of my involvement; people want to see Optimus Prime. Surf's Up is driven by a whole different type of animal, literally. Disturbia is character-driven, very different."

In the film, Mr. LaBeouf plays the teenage Kale, who gets understandably moody after his father's death. When he strikes out at an insensitive teacher, Kale is sentenced to house arrest, with a transmitter on his ankle that will bring the police if he wanders more than 100 yards from home.

Bored beyond belief, Kale takes to spying on his neighbors. Ashley (Sarah Roemer), the hot new girl next door, goes from being an object of ogling to Kale's partner in spying on the intimidating Mr. Turner (David Morse), another new neighbor whom Kale becomes increasingly convinced is a serial killer.

According to Disturbia director D.J. Caruso, Mr. LaBeouf won the role over many other young actors for one profoundly simple reason.

"Shia is just very real," Mr. Caruso says. "Everything about him is real, everything that comes out of his mouth is authentic. If dialogue is not working, he can just change it ever so slightly and make it flow.

"And he's also a guy that, the more time you spend with him, the more good-looking he gets. You know what I mean; the more endearing he gets because he's so witty and has so much charm. And his eyes are so expressive, and a lot of this movie is about the eyes."

Did the director just say his leading man isn't very attractive? If so, it doesn't seem to bother Shia.

At least his attractive leading lady thinks Mr. LaBeouf has a great sense of humor.

"Shia's a really funny guy," Ms. Roemer says. "He was constantly cracking jokes."

Uh, really. As mentioned, he seems like an awfully serious, driven young man. Ask him about appearing in yet another talking-penguin cartoon, and you get a lecture – at first.

"I understand, talking penguins," he says without the slightest hint of a grin. "But there is an allure to that. Penguins are the most human of all the birds. They look like they're wearing tuxedoes. They hang out in groups like humans do. They're upright birds. And they're cute as hell.

"And they're taking over the industry – actors' jobs, it's done. In the next five years, they're going to make The Elephant Man with penguins."

OK, so he does have a sense of humor. But don't expect to see Mr. LaBeouf in any dumb teen comedies.

"I want to do comedy. I don't want to do dumb anything. ... But kids have never been smarter, so why not make smart movies for a smart group of people?

"I see no point in making dumb movies," he says.

"I could probably make a lot of money doing them ... and never be able to sleep in my really rich, comfy bed because I'd hate myself. I have a pride thing that won't let me do that."

Los Angeles Daily News