Shia LaBeouf Opens Up About Being Diagnosed With PTSD: ‘I Had Just Thought I Was An Alcoholic’

Shia LaBeouf is one of the most famous Disney child stars turned serious actors of this generation. For the first time he’s opening up about how his childhood in the spotlight affected his mental health throughout his life.

The actor spoke with The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast about his deeply personal new movie “Honey Boy,” which tells the autobiographical story of Shia’s childhood. In it, Shia admits that one of the main reasons he started acting was to help his parents financially make ends meet.

“In a very simple way, to me, having money meant having a family,” Shia said on the podcast. “My dad wasn’t around for a lot of my life because he was chasing cash. And my mother wasn’t around because she was chasing cash…so I just thought, ‘Well, if we had money, there’d be no fighting and I’d have a family. This is what created this hustle in me.'”

It’s this monetary relationship between father and son that’s depicted in “Honey Boy.” In the movie, Shia himself plays the character of his real-life father, an abusive Vietnam veteran who takes advantage of his son’s talents.

But the movie that’s now receiving Oscar buzz may have never happened had Shia not hit what he calls his “rock bottom.”

WATCH: Shia LaBeouf Will Play Character Based On His Own Father In Upcoming Film Honey Boy

It’s no secret that the “Even Stevens” actor has had his fair share of run-ins with the law. In 2014 the actor was arrested following an outburst at a Broadway show; in 2015 he was arrested for public intoxication in Texas. But it wasn’t until a 2017 arrest on the set of “The Peanut Butter Falcon” that Shia knew he had to make a change.

Video released by the Savannah-Chatham Metro police showed the actor screaming at police officers after they arrested him.The 33-year-old admits he was “drunk out of my mind and not rational at all” during the altercation.

In the video, the “Transformers” actor used language that many construed as racist. When he returned to the set of “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” Shia admitted to feeling deeply ashamed.

In short, he told the podcast host, “This was my bottom.”

READ: Shia LaBeouf Posts Cryptic Tweet After Arrest

Only when the actor checked in to a court-ordered rehab center in Connecticut did he realize there may be deeper issues he needed to address.

“It was the first time I was told I had PTSD,” he said of the therapy at the center. “I had just thought I was an alcoholic.”

Part of Shia’s treatment at the center was to write down experiences he had throughout his life and childhood. These writings eventually turned into “Honey Boy.”

By putting his trauma to paper and taking on the role of his father, the 33-year-old has had a chance to heal and recover. He even said on the podcast that he was able to reconnect with his estranged father through the transcript, traveling to Costa Rica to present the movie to a father he hadn’t seen in seven years.

“He didn’t believe that I could pull it off,” Shia admitted. But since seeing the film, both men have come to terms with their past.

“He’s calmed. And I’ve calmed.”