Shia LaBeouf Gets Whole Chest Tattooed for Role

Many actors take their craft seriously, and then there are method actors. Method actors get so deeply into their role that they refuse to get out of character for the entirety of the time they’re shooting. For example, Daniel Day Lewis famously only answered to the name Abraham Lincoln while filming “Lincoln.” Well, Shia LeBeouf apparently heard about that and said, “Hold my beer.” LaBeouf had his entire chest tattooed just to get into a role.

For those of you that don’t know, and perhaps Mr. LaBeouf also needs to hear this, but tattoos are permanent. You know how they’re painful to get? They’re ten times as painful when you get rid of them. Deciding to get tattooed, for any reason, is a decision that shouldn’t be made rashly. So when you make the decision to get tattooed to get into a role, you’re committing all the way.

In “The Tax Collector,” LaBeouf plays a character named Creeper who collects debts for a mob boss. As you can see above, he now has a belly rocker of the character’s name. While it seems a little bit insane to go and get such a massive tattoo to help get into character, LaBeouf at least made sure to get a well-done tattoo. He has not been as discerning with some of his other tattoos. Who knows, perhaps Creeper just has better taste in art than LaBeouf does. 

David Ayers, director of “The Tax Collector,” spoke to SlashFilm about LaBeouf and his experiences working with him. “He’s one of the best actors I’ve worked with, and he’s the most committed to body and soul,” Ayers told SlashFilm. “He had a tooth pulled on ‘Fury,’ and then on ‘Tax Collector,’ he got his whole chest tattooed. So he kind of goes all in, and I’ve never known anyone that committed.”

We had gotten a peek at the tattoo previously, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in all of its glory. While we certainly did a double-take upon learning that he got the tattoo specifically for the movie role, we applaud him for finally getting a rad looking tattoo. Good on ya, Shia.

Here’s some advice for the rest of Hollywood. Are you thinking about getting a tattoo for a future role?