Shia Labeouf - Shia Labeouf's Steven Seagal Inspiration

Shia Labeouf's Steven Seagal Inspiration

Shia LaBeouf always wanted to be an action star like Steven Seagal when he was younger.

The 26-year-old actor was so desperate to break into the industry that he used to style his hair on the 60-year-old Hollywood legend and watch his films and then practice all the different moves on his children's toys.

He said: ''I would watch Steven Seagal movies and go into my room and try to beat my little teddy bear up, thinking I was him. And I would pull my curls back into a Seagal ponytail - which looked ridiculous, but I tried!''

Shia's latest role sees him star as one of three bootlegging gangster brothers - who are also played by Tom Hardy and Jason Clark - in 'Lawless', and while he found it tough to get in shape for the role, he knew it was ''mandatory'' in order to look natural alongside his onscreen siblings.

He added to Parade magazine: ''The first part of my preparation was weight gain, especially when I found out who was going to be playing my brothers. Tom Hardy was getting ready for 'The Dark Knight Rises', and Jason Clark was getting ready for this war film that he's finishing up now.

''Everybody was getting bigger around me, so in order for me to stand next to them and feel like we came from the same fabric, it was mandatory that I got big as well. I landed on that set at about 180 pounds, and now I'm 140, so it was a lot of gym time and a lot of food.''