Shia LaBeouf says he once told mentor Jon Voight he would come to the veteran actor’s house and "fist fight" him after Voight publicly supported Donald Trump, then cut him out of his life for years before later making amends.
LaBeouf, 39, made the revelations in the documentary "Megadoc," which examines the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s 2024 film "Megalopolis," in which both actors appeared. "We had a big fight on the phone where I told him I was going to come to his house, and we were going to fist fight, and I hung up the phone," LaBeouf says in the film. "Didn’t talk to him for years."
The dispute occurred around 2016, after Trump won the presidency, according to LaBeouf. The two first met on the set of "Holes" around 2003 and later worked together on the 2007 blockbuster "Transformers." LaBeouf described Voight as "the first real actor I ever met" and said the older actor served as a mentor as his career advanced.
Voight, an Academy Award winner, has been a vocal conservative and endorsed Trump in both of the former president’s campaigns. He was among figures named by Trump during his presidency as special ambassadors to Hollywood, a group that also included Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson.
LaBeouf, by contrast, publicly opposed Trump. In 2017 he helped launch the public art project "He Will Not Divide Us," which invited passersby to repeat an anti-Trump slogan in front of a camera. In "Megadoc," LaBeouf said "Voight’s politics and mine are very different," framing their split as rooted in those differences.
The documentary situates the dispute within the fraught political atmosphere of the late 2010s and the personal history between the actors. LaBeouf said their estrangement ended after he undertook a program of recovery work and reached a point at which he needed to make amends. "I was in the midst of doing my ninth step in this program I’m in, and I had to go make amends to Voight," he said. "I love him very much."
"Megalopolis," Coppola’s high-profile follow-up to earlier films, was a commercial disappointment in 2024 and is the subject of "Megadoc," which chronicles the production and aftermath. The film reunited Voight and LaBeouf on screen after years of both collaboration and conflict.
Voight’s alignment with conservative politics has set him apart in an industry that is often perceived as left-leaning. LaBeouf’s account underscores how political divisions can intersect with long-standing personal relationships in Hollywood. Both actors declined public comment beyond the statements included in the documentary.
LaBeouf’s comments in "Megadoc" add to a history of candid disclosures about his personal struggles and activism. He has previously spoken openly about recovery work and legal and personal challenges, and the film’s depiction of his reconciliation with Voight aligns with his stated efforts to address past behavior. The documentary’s release has prompted renewed attention to the actors’ decades-long professional relationship and the broader cultural debates that have played out in and around Hollywood.