Often times when people lose their way in life or find themselves faced with a life or death situation they turn to a higher power for guidance.
Shia LaBeouf recently sat down with Bishop Robert Barron and explained how he went from believing it was the end of the line for him to converting to Catholicism. And his journey began when he started studying the church for his latest role as the late-Christian mystic Padre Pio.
“I had a gun on the table. I was outta here.”
In the nearly 90 minute interview, LaBeouf recalled how he went into the project during one of the darkest points in his life.
His ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit alleging sexual battery, infliction of emotional distress, and assault. Tahliah Debrett Barnett, better known as FKA Twigs, also said the actor knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.
The 36-year-old actor denied the allegations.
The trial is set to begin in 2023.
LaBeouf explained on “Bishop Barron Presents” how his life was in shambles and began joining various faith groups in an effort to find a way out.
“I didn’t want to be alive anymore when all this happened. Shame like I had never experienced before — the kind of shame that you forget how to breathe. You don’t know where to go.”
‘But I was also in this deep desire to hold on’
So while he struggled to hold on, he began research for the upcoming film Padre Pio, where LaBeouf plays the Franciscan Capuchin friar.
To get a better idea of the church and the character he was to portray, LaBeouf moved into a monastery of Franciscan Capuchin friars.
It was while doing his research that he began to see the light.
When I walked into this, my life was on fire,” LaBeouf explained. “I was walking down a hill. It wasn’t like I willingly came in here on a white horse singing show tunes. I came in here on fire, and I didn’t want to be an actor anymore. And my life was a complete mess, and I had hurt a lot of people. I felt deep shame, guilt. I didn’t like to go outside much. I really had a journey here and I was on my way out.
He said taking on the role was almost like he had been “tricked” by God.
“Not in a bad way. In a way that I couldn’t see it. I was so close to it that I couldn’t see it.”
LaBeouf added that it wasn’t until he heard about others who struggled that he began to realize there was hope for him.
“It was seeing other people who have sinned beyond anything I could ever conceptualize also being found in Christ that made me feel like, ‘Oh, that gives me hope,'” LaBeouf told Barron. “I started hearing experiences of other depraved people who had found their way in this, and it made me feel like I had permission.”
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
It’s very brave of Shia LaBeouf to come forward and admit how much he had been struggling. I hope he will find some comfort on his new journey with Catholicism.
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