David Ayer Originally Approached Shia LaBeouf for a Role in 'Suicide Squad'
Shia LaBeouf's career is making a bit of a comeback, with critics noting that he's putting in some of the best work of his career, notably with the recent indie release American Honey.
But the actor nearly played a role in the DCEU film Suicide Squad. Following Fury, in which LaBeouf starred in the David Ayer war pic, the director approached the actor before ultimately going with Scott Eastwood for the role of Lieutenant GQ Edwards.
While LaBeouf said the character was different when he'd learned about him, “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.”
What's more, “I don’t think Warner Bros. wanted me,” he said. “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.
“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,” he explained. “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.”
Source: Comicbook
