With Shia LaBeouf on his show Monday, David Letterman seized the moment to put the candid young actor on the spot over his recent dramatic departure from Broadway's Orphans.
"Why did you get fired?" the late-night host asked LaBeouf point-blank. Letterman also grilled his guest about reports that Orphans star Alec Baldwin requested the show drop LaBeouf, saying: "What did you do to him?"
"He's a good dude and the show is terrific. I got nothing bad to say," responded LaBeouf, adding: "I'm pretty passionate and impulsive, and he's a very passionate individual as well and I think that impulsiveness and passion make for some fireworks."
STORY: Shia LaBeouf Attends Performance of 'Orphans'
Late February, LaBeouf was pushed out of the production a week into rehearsals in what Orphans PR described as the result of "creative differences" with producers. (Explained LaBeouf on Letterman: "I think that's what you gotta say as sort of a business-savvy answer for what actually happened.") He then took to Twitter to air private email exchanges with Baldwin and director Daniel Sullivan, among others, and also posted his Orphans audition video. And last week, he surprised his former co-stars by sitting front row at the very first preview performance.
"I showed up as a fan," said LaBeouf, who stars opposite Robert Redford on the big screen in the drama The Company You Keep, in theaters Friday.
"Me and Alec had tension as men. Not as artists, but as men. In a room, that became hard to deal with," he admitted.
Letterman, meanwhile, demanded the two reconcile. On that note, LaBeouf stared into the camera, tossing another compliment toward his former adversary: "Alec, I think you're awesome man."
