Bryan Cranston took a not-so-subtle swipe at Shia LaBeouf while sitting down with his TV son Frankie Muniz for Esquire.
Around the 11-minute mark of their sit-down for Esquire’s “Inquiring Minds” webseries, Muniz shared his regrets for passing on the role of Stanley Yelnats in 2003 Disney movie Holes.
LaBeouf, who previously starred in Disney Channel series Even Stevens, took the role instead, and Holes became a family-friendly classic. For Muniz, there was a scheduling conflict between the film and family action-adventure Agent Cody Banks, which was released in the same year.
“They were like, ‘Which one do you want to do?’” Muniz recalled. “I immediately picked Agent Cody Banks, but I remember everybody like kind of really pushing me to do Holes just because of the story and it's a little more dramatic.
He continued, “Shia LaBeouf ended up doing it, which I think kind of really catapulted his movie career.”
Cranston discouraged his Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair co-star from regretting the decision and comparing his career trajectory to LaBeouf.
“That's with every decision you make in your life, right?” Muniz told Cranston. “Like, ‘What could have come from it?’ Or, ‘Would I have been taken more seriously as an actor?’
“You could have ended up with Shia LaBeouf’s life,” Cranston said, before looking into the camera and giving a falling whistle. “Keep that one in. Shia, get some help.”
LaBeouf’s career has been shaken by years of issues, including alleged domestic violence and arrests.
The 39-year-old was arrested twice in February in New Orleans for two separate incidents and reportedly got into a third altercation in the Big Easy, although another arrest has not been made.
Between the events, LaBeouf appeared on podcast Channel 5 With Andrew Callaghan, where he erratically admitted to being involved in a fight during Mardi Gras and drank beer throughout the interview.
