Shia LaBeouf has come a long way since the days of Even Stevens, the Disney Channel Original Series for which he deservedly won a Daytime Emmy. Now, he has successfully transitioned from Disney child actor to full-blown artist, actor, and filmmaker. In addition to acting in film, LaBeouf can be seen as a prominent interviewee in the Prime Video documentary A Man Named Scott, which is about Kid Cudi, the rapper with whom LaBeouf collaborated on a short film called Maniac back in 2011.

Updated March 29th, 2023: If you're a fan of, or just interested in, the work of Shia LaBeouf, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with additional content and even higher quality.

LaBeouf's feature film debut was in the The Christmas Path in 1998. Since then, he has starred in several commercially and critically successful movies. He has also developed a degree of infamy for his behavior. Here is a list of the best Shia LaBeouf films.

10 Disturbia

Disturbia
Paramount Pictures

Adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s cinematic classic, Rear Window, 2007’s Disturbia was always going to be fighting a losing battle trying to recreate such a distinctive, and distinguished original. The thriller-mystery flick concerns teenager, Kale Brecht who after being grounded, decides to spy on his neighbors, inadvertently bearing witness to a murder.

9 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Shia LaBeouf in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Paramount Pictures

It is strange to think Shia LaBeouf wasn’t even born when the first installment of this iconic adventure franchise hit the silver screen. While Indiana Jones' return in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wasn’t a patch on its three predecessors of the 1980s, it does get a rough ride, with many people expressing their anger at the film despite some thinking it's actually a good movie. LaBeouf plays a pivotal role as Mutt Williams, who aids Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones as they search for the mysterious origin of the crystal skulls.

8 Holes

Shia LaBeouf Holes
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Adapted from Louis Sachar’s 1998 novel of the same name, Holes is a lovable coming-of-age tale about Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) who after being falsely accused, and wrongfully convicted of theft, is sent to the unsparing Camp Green Lake detention center. Here, along with other boys in a similar situation, they are put to work, digging holes in the smoking-hot desert, for a reason unbeknownst to them. Holes is a brilliant family adventure, where LaBeouf’s gravitating screen persona is irresistible.

7 Fury

Fury movie
Sony Pictures

As one of the most underrated war movies of the 2010s, 2013’s Fury with its impressive ensemble cast of Brad Pitt, John Bernthal, Michael Peña, and, of course, Shia LaBeouf is a full-frontal American war machine that embodies those archetypal characteristics of in-your-face patriotism, that hyper-masculine expectation of “sucking it up” in the face of adversity, and that collective motto of “we are all in this together.”

The film follows a tank division as they make inroads through Nazi-occupied France during WWII. With a fearful new recruit and a fearless commander, the group must navigate its way through perilous territory.

6 Lawless

Lawless
The Weinstein Company

LaBeouf appears alongside on-screen brothers, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke in the 2012 crime drama, Lawless. Directed by John Hillcoat, the film is set against the backdrop of the prohibition era in Virginia, as the bootlegging Bondurant brothers find themselves up to their necks when they refuse to pay the relevant arms of the law bribes. Shia LaBeouf is exceptional as the cowardly Jack, the youngest of the three siblings.

5 American Honey (2016)

Keough and LaBeouf in American Honey 2016
British Film Institute

A teenage girl (played by then-newbie Sasha Lane) with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she crisscrosses the Midwest. American Honey is a 2016 epic road drama film written and directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Andrea Arnold and also stars Riley Keough. While promoting the film, LaBeouf told Variety:

"I don’t think I’d be working with the directors I’ve been working with if I had not f**ked up a bit. They wanted a f–king fireball. They wanted a loose cannon. I’m learning how to distill my ‘crazy’ into something manageable, that I can shape and deliver on the day."

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. It received positive reviews, with Lane's debut performance receiving critical praise and accolades along with those of LaBeouf and Keough. For the 70th BAFTA Awards, American Honey received a nomination for Best British Film. American Honey overall was hailed as authentic and contemporary, with critics bringing particular attention to the chemistry between Lane and LaBeouf.

4 Pieces of a Woman (2020)

LaBeouf and Kirby in Pieces of a Woman
Netflix

Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change when a home birth ends in tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through relationships with her husband and her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified birthing specialist (Molly Parker). Pieces of a Woman is a deeply personal, searing and ultimately transcendent story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.

Related: Vanessa Kirby's 5 Best Performances, Ranked

The film also stars Sarah Snook (Succession), Iliza Shlesinger and Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza). Martin Scorsese and Sam Levinson served as executive producers, and their influence is palpable throughout this powerful film that is in part based on Mundruczó and Wéber's stage play of the same name. It premiered in September 2020 at the Venice International Film Festival, where Kirby won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. It was released in select theaters that December before hitting Netflix in January 2021.

Though criticized for certain plot elements, the film overall became noted for its impressively long take childbirth scene at the start of the film, in addition to Kirby and LaBeouf's undeniable rapport. For her performance, Kirby received Academy Award, BAFTA, SAG, Critics' Choice, and Golden Globe nominations. LaBeouf's character's downward spiral in the film is at times hard to watch — which is a testament to his magnetic performance.

3 Borg vs. McEnroe (2017)

Borg vs McEnroe with Shia LaBeouf
Nordisk Film

It's the 1980 Wimbledon tennis championship. Bjorn Borg is the No. 1 tennis player in the world and undisputed king of Wimbledon. He has won the tournament four times in a row — a fifth consecutive time would be a world first. However, a new face has appeared in the tennis world and presents a serious threat to Borg's title hopes: John McEnroe.

Borg vs McEnroe is the 2017 biographical sports drama film focusing on the famous professional rivalry between the tennis players at Wimbledon, culminating in their encounter in the men's singles final, which remains one of the most dramatic tennis matches of all time. The film opened the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was praised for the camera work and acting performances in the film — pinpointing LaBeouf's portrayal of McEnroe as a career-high performance.

2 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Peanut Butter and the Falcon
Roadside Attractions

A highly regarded adventure story set in a modern Mark Twain world, The Peanut Butter Falcon begins with Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, running away from a nursing home to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Through circumstances beyond their control, Tyler (LaBeouf), a small-time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak's unlikely coach and ally. Together they evade capture, drink whiskey, catch fish and convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) to join them.

Related: These Are Jon Bernthal's Best Performances, Ranked

The beautifully depicted film, which also stars veterans Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, and Thomas Haden Church, had its world premiere at South by Southwest in 2019 and was given a limited theatrical release in the U.S. It went on to become a sleeper hit, grossing over $23 million, making it the highest grossing independent film of the year, and received praise from critics for its charming, warm and compelling nature. LaBeouf's chemistries with both newcomer Gottsagen and Johnson leads the way. His individual performance is electric.

1 Honey Boy (2019)

Shia LaBeouf and Noah Jupe play father & son in "Honey Boy" (2019).
Amazon Studios

From a screenplay by LaBeouf himself, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har'el brings to life a young actor's stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Honey Boy fictionalizes LaBeouf's childhood ascent to stardom and subsequent rehab and recovery. Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges play different stages of the actor's career. About working with Hedges, LaBeouf told Entertainment Weekly:

"Lucas is heads and tails above everybody I’ve ever seen across from me, so very intimidating."

LaBeouf took on the daring challenge of playing a version of his own father. Artist and musician FKA Twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbor and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in motel home. LaBeouf originally wrote the script as a form of therapy while in rehab. The project was announced in March 2018, and the cast was filled out over the next two months. Honey Boy had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 and was later released by Amazon Studios. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Har'el's direction of the insightful, vulnerable and emotional film, as well as the performances — especially LaBeouf's.