Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston has weighed in with advice for Shia LaBeouf after the actor’s February arrest.
LaBeouf was taken into custody during Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, accused of striking two men.
After the alleged incident, one of the purported victims said LaBeouf used a homophobic slur while carrying out the attack.
LaBeouf was initially released after posting bail, but a judge later changed the conditions after being informed about the alleged slurs attributed to the 39-year-old.
Under the revised terms, he was ordered to post $100,000 bail and to seek treatment for drug and alcohol addiction issues.
In the weeks since, LaBeouf—who is believed to have quietly split from wife Mia Goth last year—travelled to Rome to attend his father’s baptism. While there, he was filmed shouting at a woman on the street and telling her to
‘f**k off’.
Against that backdrop, Cranston offered some blunt words aimed at LaBeouf while speaking to Esquire alongside his Malcolm in the Middle co-star Frankie Muniz.
During the conversation, Muniz looked back on a major early-career fork in the road: he was originally set to appear in the 2003 film Holes, but ultimately took another role instead.
He explained:
“I was signed to be in the movie Holes and it was 100 per cent about to start filming, and then Cody Banks was greenlit. They were like, ‘Which one do you want to do?'”
Muniz said he quickly chose the spy comedy, even though others encouraged him toward the more dramatic project:
“I immediately picked Agent Cody Banks but I remember everyone pushing me to do Holes because of the story, and it’s a little more dramatic. Shia LaBeouf ended up doing it, and it kind of catapulted his movie career.”
Cranston then jumped in with a pointed observation:
“You could’ve had Shia LaBeouf’s life.”
Before finishing with a direct message:
“Keep that one in. Shia, get some help!”
Cranston and Muniz have also been back in the spotlight thanks to the newly released Malcolm in the Middle reboot, which has drawn enthusiastic reactions from viewers and currently holds an 81 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Alongside Cranston and Muniz returning to their roles, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, and Justin Berfield also reprise their characters. Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey, does not appear.
Several familiar supporting characters return as well, including Malcolm’s close friend Stevie. Francis’ wife Piama—played by Emy Coligado—is also part of the cast.
Malcolm In the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.