Shia LaBeouf Almost Starred in ‘Suicide Squad’ | Variety 

cover story, Shia LaBeouf reveals that he’s sworn off big-studio tentpoles after “Transformers” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

But after shooting “Fury,” director David Ayer tried to convince him to consider a part in “Suicide Squad,” a role that eventually went to Scott Eastwood. “The character was different initially,” LaBeouf says. “Then Will [Smith] came in, and the script changed a bit. That character and Tom [Hardy’s] character [later played by Joel Kinnaman] got written down to build Will up.”

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LaBeouf says the studio vetoed his casting. “I don’t think Warner Bros. wanted me,” he says. “I went in to meet, and they were like, ‘Nah, you’re crazy. You’re a good actor, but not this one.’ It was a big investment for them.”

LaBeouf was more haunted by another role that got away–Casey Affleck’s Oscar-nominated turn in 2007’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” “The guy is fucking brilliant,” LaBeouf says. “You look at it and you go, ‘No way I could have pulled it off.’ But I wanted it so fucking bad. We all chased it. The whole generation went after that. Ben Foster is in the room. Casey. Everyone did.”

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He eventually got to work with Brad Pitt in “Fury,” thanks to Ayer. “My advice to him was – you got to have a healthy career diet,” Ayer says. “You do the big movies and then you go and down some for yourself. I think he’ll absolutely be back in the blockbuster business. He has a track record there.”

LaBeouf can next be seen in the indies “Man Down” and “American Honey,” which screens at this week’s Toronto Film Festival.

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