Shia LaBeouf: Francis Ford Coppola Called Me ‘the Biggest Pain in My F—— Ass of Any Actor I’ve Ever Worked With’

Shia LaBeouf and Francis Ford Coppola had a rocky time filming Megalopolis together.

In the new documentary Megadoc from director Mike Figgis (in theaters Friday, Sept. 19), which provides an inside glimpse at the making of 86-year-old Coppola’s passion project, LaBeouf, 39, is shown debating with the legendary filmmaker throughout the project’s months-long shoot in Georgia in late 2022 and early 2023.

Toward the end of the documentary, LaBeouf shared an anecdote with Figgis in which he claimed that Coppola called the Transformers star the most difficult actor he has worked with. LaBeouf’s confession comes after the pair are shown exasperatingly arguing about the details of a scene on the production’s 72nd day of filming.

“He says, ‘You know, I have one regret on this show.’ I said, ‘Okay, what’s the one regret?’ He goes, ‘You. You have been the biggest pain in my f—— ass’ — the only time he cursed — ‘You have been the biggest pain in my f——- ass of any actor I’ve ever worked with,’ ” LaBeouf says in the documentary.

“I said, ‘Really? Really? Any actor? Did I show up f—— 700 pounds overweight in the jungle? Really? Any actor? Did I quit 10 days before we wrapped?” he added, referencing Coppola’s infamous dealings with Marlon Brando on the set of 1979’s Apocalypse Now.

” ‘Really? Any actor? You’re just being dramatic,’ ” LaBeouf recalled telling Coppola. “He’s like, ‘I’m not being dramatic, get out.’ ”

LaBeouf costarred among an ensemble cast that featured Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne and Jason Schwartzman, among others, in Megalopolis. The movie, which takes place in an alternate version of New York City inspired by ancient Rome, follows a conflict between Driver’s character Cesar Catalina and the city’s mayor (Esposito) over Cesar’s plans to build a utopian society. LaBeouf plays a character named Clodio Pulcher, who plots against Cesar.

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LaBeouf said in Megadoc that he woke up to an email from Coppola the morning following their explosive argument and dictated its contents from his phone: “Of course I feel badly about my reaction last night. Many crises hit the fan all at the same time,” Coppola’s email read, per LaBeouf. “My default reaction was to quit. On The Conversation, you must know I quit 10 days before finishing for similar reasons. Just know I didn’t quit the shoot this time. Nonetheless, as usual, you’ve done good work and I thank you for that. However, we remain two totally different viewpoints, which of course [is] how people tend to be. I love you.” 

In one of Coppola’s interviews in the documentary, the director described LaBeouf as “not reasonable” on set. “He drove me nuts but his performance is great, and I’ll say it’s great, but I mean, I was in the [trailer] saying ‘I’m not even going to deal with him,’ ” Coppola said.

Following Megadoc‘s premieres at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in August, the film is in theaters Sept. 19.