John McEnroe role was ‘cathartic’, says Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf has said watching himself perform as the fiery tennis great John McEnroe was a “cathartic” experience.

The 31-year-old actor, who has garnered a reputation for his own outbursts, said on Thursday that he can draw “a lot of parallels” with his life and the athlete’s.

LaBeouf stars in Borg/McEnroe which centres on the lives of his character and his reserved opponent Bjorn Borg and their famous Wimbledon final in 1980.

The actor has had several high-profile run-ins with the law, most recently in July when he was caught on camera hurling abuse at officers arresting him for alleged public drunkenness.

He later apologised, describing the incident as a “new low”, and acknowledged he was struggling with addiction which he said he would seek to beat.

Reading the script and watching the film back was “cathartic”, he told a press conference ahead of the film’s world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.

“I’m very proud of the movie and I think it expresses something I feel deeply and I’m honoured to have been a part of this and be able to share it,” he added.

Unlike his co-stars, LaBeouf did not talk to the press from the red carpet and instead only spoke with the festival’s crew.

He told them: “Me and him have a lot of similarities, a lot of parallels in our lives.”

His co-stars sung his praise, though, with Borg actor Sverrir Gudnason saying “he’s a very talented actor and a great person”, while Stellan Skarsgard, who plays coach Lennart Bergelin, said he is a “fantastic actor” who he loves “dearly”.

Early reviews have been mixed but many highlighted LaBeouf’s performance as a triumph.

:: The movie will be released in UK cinemas on September 22.