Shia LaBeouf Talks 'Lawless' and His Bad Boy Image

By PARADE

Shia LaBeouf rose to fame as the star of the billion-dollar Transformers franchise. Now, he's going for booze, bullets, and blood in Lawless (Aug. 29), the true story of the infamous bootlegging Bondurant brothers in Prohibition-era Virginia.

The 26-year-old actor talked to PARADE about preparing for the role, his bad-boy image, and dealing with fame.

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On his transformation into the bootlegging Jack Bondurant:

"The first part of my preparation was weight gain, especially when I found out who was going to be playing my brothers. Tom Hardy was getting ready for "The Dark Knight Rises," and Jason Clark was getting ready for this war film that he's finishing up now. Everybody was getting bigger around me, so in order for me to stand next to them and feel like we came from the same fabric, it was mandatory that I got big as well. I landed on that set at about 180 pounds, and now I'm 140, so it was a lot of gym time and a lot of food."

"I'm an only child, so I'm pretty much a loner. It's easier to not have too many things anchoring me. When I'm working, that's my family."

On how the action scenes compared to "Transformers":

"The action in "Transformers" was more fantastical--we rehearsed it like a ballet. "Lawless" is dirtier and grimier."

On bringing back the old-fashioned gangster:

"What's sexier than Warren Beatty in "Bonnie and Clyde"? Old Americana vintage gangster stuff has a fantastical feel; it feels less dirty in a way. It feels like the opera of crime. These were the first superheroes. People are still emulating the old fashioned criminal."

On his early desire to become an actor:

"I would watch Steven Seagal movies and go into my room and try to beat my little teddy bear up, thinking I was him. And I would pull my curls back into a Seagal ponytail--which looked ridiculous, but I tried!"

On his Hollywood bad-boy image:

"I've made mistakes along the way, but I'm learning. I'm more comfortable with myself, and I'm calming down. I think most twentysomething men go through similar struggles and start seeing what boundaries and what rules are. It's about pushing limits and trying to find yourself. I've never been able to learn from other people's mistakes -- I'm not that smart -- so I usually learn by trial by fire."

On dealing with fame:

"I've been blessed in that any kind of fame that I've received has never been like pop-star-fanatical. There's never been any fanatical nature to anybody who has ever appreciated anything I've been in or has noticed me. It's usually pretty respectful and quiet. People are very reserved with me, actually."

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More at PARADE:

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"Lawless" opens in theaters August 29.