Bryan Cranston Addresses Shia LaBeouf Directly in Interview

On Wednesday, Esquire posted an interview with actors Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston as a part of their promotion for the new Malcolm in the Middle revival titled Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair. In an unexpected turn, Bryan Cranston addressed actor Shia LaBeouf's recent personal/legal troubles.

If you were online in February, you saw a lot of LaBeouf. The actor known for the Transformers and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as iconic Disney roles in Even Stevens and Holes, was making waves in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. LaBeouf was seen in videos posted online partying unaccompanied on the streets during the annual festival. Not long after these videos started circulating, news broke that LaBeouf had been arrested during the festivities for fighting, video of which was also posted online. A fan bailed the actor out of the local jail, and videos were seen of him back at the party.

While in the spotlight on social media, reports came out that LaBeouf and actress Mia Goth, who share a child, had quietly split over a year ago. In an interview on actor Jon Bernthal's podcast, Real Ones, in 2022, LaBeouf credited Mia Goth for saving his life and helping him get sober. The strange couple of days was then capped off by a bizarre viral interview for Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan.

In Wednesday's interview between on-screen father and son, Muniz detailed how he was originally signed on to play the lead in Holes but was then offered the movie Agent Cody Banks, which he did instead. The actor would then question what would happen if he had gone through with starring in Holes.

"Shia LaBeouf ended up doing it, which I think really catapulted his movie career," Muniz said. "That's one where I go like, 'I wonder what my career or life would have been.'"

Cranston then jokingly assured Muniz that he didn't miss out by not taking LaBeouf's path.

"Yeah, you could have ended up with Shia LaBeouf's life," Cranston said, turning to the camera and whistling the sound of a cartoon bomb dropping from the sky. "Keep that one in." Cranston then turned to the camera and addressed LaBeouf directly. "Shia, get some help."

Bryan Cranston and Shia LaBeouf have never shared the screen together, but it's not surprising that news of LaBeouf's troubles have made their way through Hollywood circles.