EXCLUSIVE: Carl Froch meets Shia LaBeouf | Sobriety, Hollywood, Jake LaMotta and his love for boxing

Carl Froch welcomes Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf on today’s episode.

00:00 – Intro
01:32 – Shia LaBeouf x Carl Froch link up
04:38 – Shia’s sobriety
11:13 – Struggles with drugs and alcohol
13:15 – Stopping the ‘waves’
17:30 – A year of sobriety/personal AA experiences
20:40 – Life as a dad/husband
22:30 – Working in Hollywood from an early age
25:14 – Working on ‘Fury’
33:00 – Froch and Shia sparring
34:30 – Working on ‘Salvable’
36:45 – Shia in Nottingham?
38:13 – 12 Rounds with Shia LaBeouf
39:04 – Favourite movie of all time?
40:52 – Best friend in Hollywood?
41:58 – What annoys Shia?
42:44 – Hidden talent?
43:22 – Favourite music genre?
44:11 – The way to Shia’s heart is ____
44:22 – Are you a big boxing fan?
45:21 – Favourite sport?
46:28 – Favourite place Shia’s visited?
47:05 – Biggest fear?
47:48 – Fight against one other actor?
48:59 – Outro

Okay we’re doing Carl fron fight we’re doing fron fighting in order to do a good episode of fron fighting you need one thing need Carl FR don’t you don’t you Cobra Cobra the show started we already started the show Cobra Cobra no we started the show already start asking the

Questions well we’re doing the show right now so we already called it already we already started we already started let’s go I need to get myself no we’re already doing it we’re already shooting it now let the this is a special episode of fron fighting this

Behind a behind the scenes look how the champ gets ready for the show are you ready I’m ready brother let’s do it all right FR on fighting let’s go and action this will be your best episode it already probably it feels good already pretty strong hello and

Welcome to F un fighting with me KL the cobra frch four time world champion just in case you didn’t already know Hall of Famer and as you found out this week I boxed in front of how many 80,000 80 880,000 fans at Wembley Stadium he knew

Already how well I said it you said it one or two one or two three four five times I want to introduce my special guest a Hollywood movie star Shia Shia La nice to meet you he’s a legend hey thank you for having me it’s an honor to

Be here so what are we doing here well I mean it when I say it’s an honor to be here I respect you greatly you’re helping our movie you’re helping me getting the character for this movie I haven’t spent this kind of intimate time with a warrior like you different kind

Of Warriors soldiers and so on but not Fighters like you and what we’re doing here is we’re doing fraan fighting with our directors Johnny and bjor behind the camera what are we doing here in Bedford we’re training and what’s the movie we’re training need to let fans know

Okay we’re making a movie It’s called salvable salvable y salvation Toby Kell’s in it savior he’s playing s I’m playing his brother his best friend little Wayward it’s based Loosely well it’s it’s based on a script that was written by our boys but it’s I am my

Mind it’s and my heart is based Loosely on you and your brother Lee yeah so so there’s a guy called s s which is short for it’s not salv is it so salvator is the guy’s name shab is playing Vince and that’s his best friend it’s not his

Brother it’s his best friend but you’ve got a like him between you’ve got a likeness between myself and Lee my brother Lee because of what I did as a professional boxer and who your brother is who my brother is as a fighter and as a man and all these things so it’s quite

Interesting it’s quite a it’s quite a it’s like all the stars of aligned and it’s a unique sort of set of circumstances because this script had nothing to do with me or my brother when it was initially written yeah and this and it’s like and then celestial mathematics God whatever you want to

Call it led the director to Toby Toby was asked okay we’re going to do this movie who do you need he was a big fan of yours as from as a just as a human we actually went to the same school in Newark which is ridiculous ridiculous

The Grove School in New that’s another strange coincidence and then and I don’t know if you guys knew this but then when I started to get to know you I was watching a lot of Lee trying to get the notingham accent and then I realized how

Much has in common with the guy on the page and then the more you told me about him Bond the bond the bond the brotherly Bond so I saw how much you and your brother love each other in interviews I also seen how gregarious your brother is

And the more I get to know you guys the more I realize it it’s just my mother would say bashet meant to be Kismet that we would meet each other that you would open up also that we would that we would fall in line right away that it’s like

Uh we have similar sensibilities we get each other I think I me and your brother have a lot in common you know we’re both on a lot of similar paths uh a lot of fathers in the room there’s a lot the similarity between you and my brother is

A lot it’s very like yeah I don’t know what word you would use but it’s very strange strange weird you could say that’s a better word s good we have a writer here CU I wouldn’t have come up what’s that word serendipitous serendipitous there you go that’s why

He’s here that’s why he’s here that’s why he’s here serendipitous so and it is strange because your journey on sobriety began is it getting on for two years ago three years three years yeah yeah so what made you decide I mean Rock Bottom made my brother same so you had your

Bottom out you was on the floor really blow my brain out and you decided to become sober and go down the the SOB the root of sobriety you talk briefly about that yeah please um so yeah I I was done done yeah gun in hand writing suicide

Letters you actually had a gun gun on the table Yeah ready to go I was out of here I had gotten a uh uh an email from The New York Times that basically said your life is [ __ ] yeah that’s the subtext and it was like damn full-blown

Shame Panic heart rate forgot how to breathe and then the first thought that I had after I caught my breath was I I can’t I’m not going to be able to live so then I ran upstairs and I get my gun and I come downstairs and then I’m

Realizing oh I got to I got to check out like properly I’m I’m just like scatterbrained I’m writing my mother a suicide note in my phone and I had been in AA for so long my dad was in AA when I was younger I was kind of raised in

The rooms so where I learned how to play cards where I learned how to smoke cigarettes in my life AA was like daycare yeah so my dad got out of prison he was getting sober he used to bring me around AA all the time so from when I

Was 10 years old till now I’ve been understood what it was my whole life and so I’m I’m I’m thinking oh I’m going to respond to the New York Times but I don’t really know what to say and I’m trying to come up with rationalizations and excuses and I realize I’m I’m I’m

[ __ ] out of luck and I have no more answers There’s No Escape Route your life is [ __ ] that’s all I keep hearing and you you got to get the [ __ ] out of here and so I run upstairs I get my gun I come downstairs I’m writing a suicide

Note to my mom and and this is where the God thing starts to happen early early days I don’t know it’s God I don’t know what’s happening but because I had been in AA for so long I didn’t hear any of the message but I had saved the bunch of

Phone numbers yeah and so uh uh um I’m writing a suicide note and at the same moment I’m getting ready to finish the suicide note I get a text message from a dude I haven’t spoken to in years and it’s like how you doing kid

And I spend you know and I’m thinking oh well now I’m stuck I got to answer for this guy and then I start writing like what’s going on for me and I’m saying I’m [ __ ] I’m out of here my life’s over and his response to me was basically it wasn’t like cheerleader or

Or like even coddling it was like oh cool tell me about it tomorrow like he didn’t play into my [ __ ] at all he didn’t play into the drama at all he just he was really straight shooter style he just said cool tell me about a tomorrow and that bought me the night

Then you thinking there’s not going to be a tomorrow well no but at that point I gave you at that point I figured I was so dead set on getting my message across to one person that it did bought me the night it bought me like seven hours then

I woke up in the morning so is it just C was it just a coincidence they messaged you at that time yes that’s what I mean that’s where this coincidence God it’s like a long way of spelling God coincidence I know that now at the time I didn’t it was just God

Doing his three card Monty on me you know and so um so did you find God after you yeah found sobriety yeah yeah I found God through sobriety right okay so he started in sobriety and did you complete 12 steps of sobriety so you were sober or becoming sober yeah by the

Time by the time I could name what my God was and put a shape on it yeah cuz a long time I mean a long time it wasn’t God I was praying to and I’ll get to that but so a higher power higher power some people call it a door knob some

People call for me it was waves for like a year it was just waves so like I didn’t believe in God I didn’t I didn’t grow up with God I grew up with hippies and outlaws and it wasn’t it wasn’t no God in my life your dad was a biker my

Dad was a biker so I W up I so I bought me the night right the guy says hey meet me at Zuma Beach tomorrow we got a meeting Malibu meet me tower 20 meet me at the tower 20 meeting in Malibu and so I drive from my house and in Pasad I

Drive it’s like 6:00 in the morning I wind up at this at this beach meeting and the guy’s out there and um I see this guy I’d seen him on a meeting that night the guy told me he’s like all right cool you know tell me about it

Tomorrow but he’s like meet me on this Zoom meeting because it was the middle of covid so all AA was transferring on to zoom yeah so I wind up getting on the zoom meeting I see this one guy it’s like when you go to jail or something

You can see the big guy that everyone respects kind of like when you walk into a restaurant in or room or you’re with us everybody just gives you respect everyone knows the top G just walked in all right okay so you okay all right so

It’s kind of like that it is that is that so I see the top G in that room at AA right I’m like oh everybody respects this guy you know I’m like oh well so I reach out to him I’m like hey bro what

Do I do and he invites me to the same meeting my friend invited me to and I wind up at this beach meeting and the guy’s like well you know is your life [ __ ] first question you asked me is your life [ __ ] yes cuz that was a

Headline in it he knew I knew we just knew but also that’s how these steps work he’s like so is your life [ __ ] you know because if if a guy’s life if he doesn’t know his life is [ __ ] he’s not going to do AA he’s not gonna do 12

Steps he’s not GNA do nothing he needs to be on the floor to know it’s [ __ ] done so he’s like is your life [ __ ] I’m like yeah okay he goes do you have a problem with liquor and alcohol do you have a drug of choice I’m like I have a

Drug of no choice anything that makes me feel relief that’s I’m in you know sex money power liquor weed anything and if empow you and everything makes you forget about reality anything not even forget forget about reality but anything that builds my ego right so it’s feeding

An ego feeding the ego and because I was in Hollywood for so long it’s really easy to get totally lost in ego and think that you’re managing everything you’re running the show do you think becoming a superstar so young and becoming so big and being the Hollywood

Like name which he was Transformers [ __ ] me did that [ __ ] me your mind not just that but like the fact that I went from being broke really poor my parents having nothing to becoming a millionaire real quick to be yeah well you start thinking well I got the answers how you

Going to tell me I don’t know what’s I’m come I come from the bottom and now I bought my mom a house I’m 15 years old how you going to tell me [ __ ] I’m not going to hear nothing you have to say to me like I’m feeding my family I’m not

Even 18 yet there’s nothing you can say to me not a teacher not a I had nobody to look up to there was nobody above me for a long time no Father Figure no male positive my dad was my buddy it was different yeah yeah no Father Figure no

And I didn’t really respect directors you know I’ve always been pretty notorious like not being respectful to anybody to authority figures so uh first question is your life [ __ ] yeah do you have a problem with drugs and alcohol I’m like yeah I got a problem not just

Drugs and alcohol I got a problem with anything that makes me feel good anything that brings me relief I can’t do in moderation nothing so always excessive everything and and then he goes okay cool I want you to look at my cell phone real quick cuz I had heard

His story on the meeting the night before and his story was crazy you know crazier than mine and he’s like uh tell in that meeting he was basically leading the meeting and he’s basically telling everybody like how he went from smoking crack and thinking he was a dragon to

Like really having a life substantial fulfilled life family love in his life through sobriety through sobriety and so I get to the beach he pulls out his phone he’s like all right cool I want you to look through some of my photos and I’m looking through his photos and

It’s just he’s just smiling in every photo and he goes now do you think that I took all those pictures for you nah no way so you know that this is this thing that’s going on between me and you isn’t some Grand conspiracy right I’m like

Yeah it can’t be we didn’t even know each other yesterday and these photos are from months ago this say three or four years of smiles so I know he’s not bullshitting me he goes did you believe my story last night about me being a crackhead I was like I think so and he

Had a friend there at that meeting who had been his roll dog for long a long 20 25 years and he calls that guy over and he goes hey what I say last night really happened the guy co-signed it so and then he walks away and it’s just me and

That guy he goes so you believe what I told you last night so yeah he goes so so you so that’s the second step came to believe that this power greater than yourself could restore you to sanity which at that time is AA you know first step ad powerless over powerless over

Alcohol drugs sex whatever it is and your life is unmanageable second step is came to believe that the power greater than yourself God higher power Buddha Mithra whatever it is so early on in the 12 steps of sobriety my brother’s eight years into the journey yeah and that

Second one is a powerful um it’s having faith something it’s having belief belief faith comes after so like you can’t have faith without belief first belie belief is where it starts and belief starts when you’re out of answers right cuz you’re willing to look at life differently because you know that your

Answers aren’t answers which is what that first step is your answers are [ __ ] so you’re searching for an alternative some’s going to work for you yes and he’s showing me smiles and I’m thinking I don’t even know how to smile anymore so then then he goes all right well

What’s your relationship with God I’m like I have no relationship with God at all none zero he’s like cool come down with the beach with me real quick and I walked down to the beach and he had had these we had surf boards in our hand cuz

We were going to go surfing or something like that we’re waxing these boards we wind up at the beach he’s like all right cool hit your knees and I grew up with a homophobic father I’m not getting on my knees around no man even if you ask me

To get on my knees or get punched and get on my knees at this point in my life and so um he gets on his knees first and I think okay well then it’s not what I thought all right uh and he gets on his

Knees and uh and then I get on my knees and we’re like waxing these boards we’re looking out at the ocean and he’s like all right well do me a favor stop those waves over there I’m like what do you mean stop those waves what do you mean

Like what I get it I get what you’re trying to do and I’m like trying to play a couple steps ahead of him and he’s like look this isn’t going to work if you do that right AA is for a bunch of stubborn [ __ ] who do a bunch of

[ __ ] they don’t believe in so that their life gets better so I’m going to ask you to do a lot of things that you think are [ __ ] but I don’t care if you think they’re real or not I just need you to do them I don’t care how you feel I

Don’t care what you think all I care about is what you do okay so I’m like okay Bet and I like the energy you know it’s kind of I need structure I won’t listen to anything else so he’s like so stop those waves and I go you want me to

Like yell at them okay cool so I start yelling at the waves stop waves stop waves and his first I’m kind of giggling about it and he’s like no no no louder my boy louder and he’s calling me my boy so now I got this already in the first

20 minutes of knowing this guy we got like something that feels like it’s going to work yeah I don’t know how much it’s going to work but I’m feeling like I like his energy he says he says stop boys and I say stop waves and

Um and I’m yelling at the waves and uh the waves obviously aren’t stopping and I’m and uh now I’m yelling at the waves and I’m yelling and yelling and this is a day out of getting ready to blow my brains out so I’m having like an emotional reaction but I’m also a

Manipulator I’m an actor so now I’m like trying to perform for this guy you know so I’m like I’m crying and I’m yelling at these waves but he’s like don’t perform don’t perform really try to stop him so then the tears go away and now I’m done manipulating and I’m like ah

It’s not working you do not stop and he goes exactly so that’s a power greater than yourself so just pray to the waves for a while until God shows up for you so that’s what I do for the next year I go through the rest of the steps and

Instead of like dear God I’m just saying dear waves dear waves get me through today sober dear waves help me keep this gun out of my mouth dear waves you know uh help me get from point A to point B anyway we finish that meeting I’m through the first three steps of my

First meeting right right away boom and then I’m driving behind him and him and his friend get in his car and we’re driving to go get breakfast burritos and I remember seeing him and his friend that he had known for 25 years they’re like silhouetted in This Land Rover he’s

Got I’m in my truck and I’m driving behind him and I see that their Silhouettes laughing the whole way to breakfast burritos like a it felt like a path right so like I’m driving behind them we’re going and they’re just laughing the whole ride haahaha I’m seeing their faces and I’m thinking

Maybe man maybe this will like Teach Me How To Laugh Smile the waves thing kind of weird but like I’m following it and what the first thing that attracted me was the laughter it’s not a glum lot these aren’t like boring dudes who are bitching about their sobriety and like

Bitching about life they’re like enjoying life yeah they’re smiling so then you know so from that point to this point A lot’s happened but that’s how it started and it wasn’t it wasn’t so much believing in a God no just anything more more than me anything more than my

Answer so the waves VI was your focus was God first and that got you started on the journey yeah it opened me up say Le and that that Journey went on from from the the next day after you was going to blow your brains out it sounds ridiculous sounds hostile but you’ve got

A gun and you’re you’re was you prepared to was you in a position where you probably not I’m pretty I think I think I’m too [ __ ] to kill myself you you think really yeah that’s that’s a problem though I’m not so sure we had a

Good spa session today no no I I mean it I mean I call you a [ __ ] I mean I I don’t know what if that’s the right word but especially for the new lock the new Big you put some Timber onow but but but

I think um no I was stuck I was stuck in this situation where it’s like I’m too too scared to kill myself life is too scary to live so I’m like at this no man’s land yeah that’s amazing that Journey from from from kind of asking

The waves that AR going to stop but you got to try and have faith in something something to then driving and following him and then so that was then a year yeah so then after a year then then my journey kept going like after a year and

How many how many times did you attend these meetings how many every day so it was every day yeah every day every day for a year every day for a year see that’s intense but also I was blessed because it was during covid so when I

Was too lazy to drive I could just jump on Zoom it was always on Zoom 6 o00 Every Night 40 dudes on Zoom doing an AA meeting sharing all sharing yeah running the program and so um then he well how does that work you get 10 minutes to sign your B yeah everybody

Shares so no matter if you want to share or not you can’t hide and the way the meetings my brother brother goes to yeah you don’t have to share if you don’t want to a lot people for the first second third time and they won’t share and you know that once they

Tell their story their problem that’s the start of becoming free did you was you happy to share already cuz you already spent no I didn’t want to share nothing I was I was in shame I couldn’t how long until you spoke right day one oh really they forc you to right okay

They forc and and and at first I was probably talking [ __ ] for a long time probably four months of [ __ ] getting your [ __ ] off your chest yeah but it’s not even real but I don’t even know what’s real right this is the thing about alcoholism is you can’t see

Life for what it is is your your perspective is all [ __ ] up you know you’re you’re victimizing all the time you’re like bitching about everything you’re not taking accountability you’re pointing the finger at everybody else it’s her fault it’s his fault it’s this fault so you can’t even really see

Reality how long did it take to do the 12 Steps From step one to step 12 which we’re not going to go through all them steps first and second how long did you say right I’ve done 12 steps now I I feel like I’m now sober cuz you’re over

Two years sober well there a tricky thing right what point did you say right I’ve cracked this I’m s what you never do never it’s a daily repre yeah always you wake up every day I wake up I’m an alcoholic every day my brother says that

The same every day I was kind of testing you there yeah if you ever you’re always in recovery oh every day if you ever you think you’ll ever not be in recovery no I have to you have to do and it’s not even a have to it’s I want to yeah yeah

I find fulfillment in it now I find my purpose in it now but um yeah so the whole step process probably took me 8 months before I was sponsoring other people and then then you really start feeling relief when you’re helping other people out that’s where it feels like

Drugs cuz like an addict’s never going to want to stop doing drugs ever a guy like me is never going to stop wanting to get high you got to find a new high and that new high that’s found in AA is service that’s where you feel it giving

Back yeah that’s where you start feeling High that’s where you’re walking around your parking lot you know like you used to talk to your plug all hopped up and excited but now you’re talking to a dude who’s like getting his life back and you’re just as excited and you get off

The phone and you have the same kind of like your heart rate’s going and you’re like you’re pumped up about life yeah yeah so it’s you’re getting high still and now since becoming sober yeah and even though your so still in Rec recovery yeah you’ve got a you’ve got an

English wife yeah you got a 2-year-old daughter y when is she three yeah in a month CU quite a big difference between she she’s two in one month oh two and one month two and one month all right okay so she’s not she’s still in that sort of baby she’s walking around she’s

Saying a few words she’s giving you a smile big big smiles and hugs and she knows who daddy is yeah yeah so so you’re with your wife with my wife sorry what’s her name just Mia Mia so with Mia and just for the for the viewers that don’t there and your daughter’s name

Isabel Isabel yeah and they’re obviously your world now whole world and I saw you’re concentrating on or interested in providing for them and making sure their life’s nice it’s it’s not true for me to say they’re my whole world they’re a huge part of my world massive part of my

World they’re the most important part it’s not healthy if they’re your whole world okay they’re the most important part of your journey your journey for sure and your journey now is um so we’ll move on from sobriety and weld on for that and I feel that and my brother’s my

Brother as you know you spoke to my brother actually Lee earlier yeah and um I want to have this chat with my brother as well actually but I’m just going to save it because I just want to yeah maybe there’s another one to do with him

Yeah maybe maybe we sit and have a chat with him but where we are now on this film salvable yeah and when I picture you sha boo I’ve got this this young kid on Transformers big Hollywood star yeah and then when I first met you I’ve obviously seen you before I arrived here

In in Bedford in New York yeah but now you look like a unit yeah like a you look like Russell Crow from the Gladiators and we’ve had a sparring session yeah we might even we’re going to clip some of these sparring sessions in all right if the um put the good

[ __ ] in put the good [ __ ] in if the producers but yeah how I how do I do how did you do how do I do you did pretty good mate how I actually thought if I’m honest looking at you in Transformers and looking at your like your baby face

I just I don’t know you you probably got this image I don’t actually that’s a question for you yeah that image of being a childhood Superstar and like a young kid like M Calli K got it from home alone and he could never shake that did you feel like you had a stigma

Attached to your image or you as an actor the restrict from doing bigger roles maybe not even that but it probably motivated certain behaviors that I kind of looked up to I didn’t look up to like the Tom Cruzes and the Tom Hanks I looked up to like the Shawn

Pens and the m Gibson they were a little bit crooked a little bit bent and so and because I had grown up in AA so long I felt like I got to earn my seat and so the reason I couldn’t get sober young enough is cuz I felt like my story

Wasn’t enough you know I’m just going to raise my hand and I had a DUI it felt like oh that’s not like his story yeah so my ego was still involved in it so I W up doing damage sometimes uh my agency was involved in it I would think oh it’s

Pretty cool you know maybe my dad will respect me now it’s like a whole weird twist in the thing where like to earn my dad’s Stripes it wasn’t going to be like I make a million dollars and now he respects me as a man it was like oh you

Got to go to jail or you got to like go to war or you got to like like the big thing is and I still question is uh is like when does a boy become a man you know Americans British we don’t have a puberty ceremony yeah it’s not like you

Go off into the jungle and you come back with a lion’s head you’re a man now we don’t have anything like that no scars on your face no no ritual yeah there’s no ritual so I know what you mean you kind of you have to grow up sort of find

Discover it on your own with no positive male role model which I kind of never really had cuzz my my parents split when I was very young and I had relationship with my dad how old were you I was 6 years old split up yeah so Lee was Lee’s

Le’s two years older than me he was he was only eight eight yeah my younger brother was a baby and you went with Pops I stayed with my dad cuz of the schooling he went off my younger brother and lived with my mom not too far away

Still saw them were separated yeah yeah we separated and he went with your sister no I’ve Got No Sisters i’ got two brothers brother and they went off and younger brother yeah I spent a lot of time with my dad at home yeah and it just from a young age I

I learned to become quite self-sufficient from a very young age and I think that kind of for me I wouldn’t change anything because it made me who I am happy I end up becoming world champion I don’t know if you know but I W supporting for of 8 yeah you

Know how many people were there you know that how many people were in there 80,000 80,000 you know that one don’t you do I know that one yeah we don’t need to go there do no we just once just so you was in moving on from that which

Is big number National Stadium but moving on from that so I can remember you in a film yeah Fury yeah and you was in a tank yeah and you was really you really became the character yeah and you did some for me very intense things like

You’ think I do intense for my training and my sparring and fighting with a broken hand which we’ve talked about and broken ribs Etc but you was in this tank on this film Fury and if you not seen it I i’ sort of I strongly recommend that

People go and watch this film fury because you played you became the character you lived in the tank you I mean tell us what you did to yourself to become well I to take the PO serious yeah I always thought acting was kind of soft yeah that’s probably what motivated

A lot of my process right it’s like my dad always thought like acting is like that’s not a real job you know he always in my head deeply homophobic man always telling me like acting is for that’s for clowns like it’s not it’s not a real job

He was a soldier his father was a soldier his father was a soldier so I come from this lineage of like fighting men and then I then I want I wind up on a set put makeup on my face it felt like really um feminized the job felt like

Really like emasculated so then the way that I would go about my process was like I was trying to fight that and so I remember being in the trailer one time Brad Pit’s there and like he’s put and God blessing that’s a good dude uh and I

Love him but I remember sitting in the room with him and Bernthal was there and Pena and they’re like putting makeup on their face and I had just spent like a year in the National Guard prepping for the movie like I got fired from a play

In New York that I was doing with this with Alec Ballwin God bless him too a good dude uh who’s going through a lot God bless him that’s a good man he’s he’s going through Hellfire right now yeah bless him I love that dude but we went through our struggles me and him

Where we didn’t see eye to eye while we were making that movie or making that play and I want up getting fired and the day I got fired I want up getting text message from my agent like Brad Pit wants to talk to you and I’m like what I

Don’t know who Brad Pit is I mean I know him but I don’t know him and he writes like hey you want to do this war movie with me and I’m like I just got fired I’m like heartbroken I’ve been rehearsing this PL for 2 years years and

When they take a play from me it’s like I mean I know now I have a kid so it’s not the same but it felt like some at that time it felt like somebody taking my kid from me you know and so I was really heartbroken he writes out he

Writes he writes me this message like hey you want to do this war film and I write back like what war film he gives me the basic premise and the next day I wind up joining the National Guard and I’m in the National Guard in the Armory

Division in in Iowa for like uh like a long time you know almost a year almost a year and you did that to prep Mur yeah prep for movie that’s like for me that’s intense yeah it was intense and and he was in this tank cuz there’s lots of

Scenes in the tank yeah that’s why I was with the armorers and what tell us about the tank what happened in the tank a whole bunch happened in the T what did you do to to make yourself so I after that prep we went through like a two we

Training like a boot camp like for actors H in England and then we’re in this makeup trailer getting ready to do this movie and I just made friends with all these armors and we’re like putting fake mud on our faces and like it just feels like oh man I’m like this can’t be

It you know so I see Brad Pit in the mirror and I’m thinking like how do I motivate my boys you know how do we make this more how do we get further and I want up like cutting my face I’m rubbing blood on my face and I’m kissing Brad

And how how did you cut your face I had a knife so I’m like I’m sitting the mirror you just took a knife out your pocket in the mirror well I’m looking at him like I’m looking at Brad cuz the way it works on the movie set is it’s all

Top down right so everything is dictated by number one on the call sheet so Brad Pit is about that life that we all have to be about that life so I thought oh you know I I I didn’t want to see my my we call them top but I didn’t want to

See top putting fake mud on his face I wanted more and and we had already fallen in love at that point like real like really bonded yeah and um so I’m I’m like rubbing blood on my face partly for the character but also partly like motivate the troops you know and then

I’m like I went and kissed him on the face and that wasn’t enough to kind of laughing at me like I’m an idiot and they think it’s like ridiculous and then I went to to the grip Department I got a like some pliers and I ripped my tooth

Out and spit blood all over the mirror and that at that point everybody’s like oh this is [ __ ] crazy and if I wasn’t around a bunch of people who loved me I might have gotten fired you know but what it did to us was it like

It like yeah it was like you skim over that really quickly but you’ve got a pair of grips you taken your tooth and you pulled what one of your bottom teeth yeah this one so that’s a fake tooth F and that’s been rep replac and why did

You go for that too specifically well because we we had been spending a lot of time the tank and I was the Gunner and in a Sherman tank they have a spot in the Sherman tank by the driver’s column where you put all your manuals yeah and

It has like a real a real rough Edge on it it’s all made out of metal like a ridge a ridge yeah and I’m thinking cuz Penny was driving us around and it was like really like bumpy we were supposed to be in that tank for three years all

The way from Africa to Germany you know fighting World War II and I’m thinking there’s no way my face is untouched cuz every time we’re just driving around a parking lot and every time he stops the think I’m lean Le afford and I wind up hitting my head on that thing a couple

Of times and I’m thinking okay well if this is happening just for this 2 we period and I’m in here for 3 years something’s up something’s happening right here so I knew going into makeup I’d already told him something’s got to happen here we got to change this it’s

Got to change shape something it’s not something much you have to become that character for you to feel you have to you don’t have to but for you to feel you’re playing your role properly and there was all this loaded loaded history of my father and his father and his

Father like my grandfather was awarded the lardier in France by deal a World War II hero like like your grandfather Yeah so like two sides of the same operation that’s D day you know your grandfather was on this side my grandfather was coming part of the

Allies my grand had the Nazi outfit on cuz they were surrounded by polish man Nazi outfit on not firing his gun not firing his gun and my dad’s running my grandfather’s running up the hill that’s crazy crazy that’s that’s another like that’s the Stars Al l so you’ve become

This character in this tank you smack your tooth on well imag you’ve imaginary smack your tooth you actually pulled it out you scratched your face to me and to probably a lot of listeners and viewers are going to think that’s [ __ ] crazy [ __ ] yeah but a lot of people a lot of

Normal people would think like getting in a ring with a person and going 12 rounds is completely CRA but you take your role as an actor serious yeah yeah and for you to take the role that you’ve taken that I’ve ended up W wind up training you you’ve not got a boxing

Scene or a fight scene no you want to understand the fighters mentality and I want to get close to Toby so Toby cabel is playing he’s playing South you’re playing Vince his best friend and I got to go up inside you stacked up you follow a Timber on and it’s it’s good

Solid weight and you’ve done that to become to be able to be able to take money from Fighters cuz if you’re going to stand there take money off Fighters they got to look you and respect you correct you don’t want to be like this skinny dweed you want to look like this

Yeah you can’t tank yeah so that thing in the makeup happens the makeup trailer happens but and then I never go in the makeup trailer again and none of the other boys do either and that does something when your actors on a movie are not going into the makeup trailer

Anymore it changes the whole feelings on the said so you was becoming dirty and grimy and looking like a real Soldier yeah we but usually like living in the tank that’s the thing you say living in the tank yeah that’s the thing me did

You ever go out the tank to go and eat and yeah of course of course but like we would sleeping there so sleeping in we sleeping there and we [ __ ] and piss in there and we like hang out in there like a bucket yeah you little ammo bug yeah

My brother does that in the back of his van okay well that’s you know that’s his own business maybe yeah all right well that’s you know I don’t know what he’s doing but he’s trying to wind someone up and ups at no well it’s construction it’s Construction Construction so yeah

So from that point on we never go back in the in the makeup trailer and the crew knows that now it’s affected the crew and the crew sees us in the tank all the time and it bonded us and it just it it that that give you that

Togetherness that’s why the film it works you could see that there’s camaraderie there yeah I I don’t me personally I don’t think I could act those things they’re either happening or they’re not you’re not acting yeah and so and now we’re fast forward into where

We are now you’re playing B and me and you have been doing a bit sparring you don’t need to but you kind of wanted to yeah and and yeah and we’ve only done body spying not because you didn’t want to do head Spa but because I didn’t want

To get my new Straight beautiful side profile no it’s gorgeous beautiful is it it’s beautiful absolutely beautiful I was going to go for the Richard Gear with the gray Air no this is better with you guys yeah it’s better yeah I thought so as well thank you you’re welcome but

Um you’re quite a tough [ __ ] if I do say so no dude no you you’re taking shots off the four time World Champ Hall of Famer you’re laughing no but you’re laughing about it yeah I don’t I don’t know what that is it’s like it’s like

Yeah cuz it made me feel like a little boy so I to do with shots you’re throwing shots I’m slipping throwing upper around your ribs and you’re just like you’re giggling yeah because one one it’s like a little boy dream to be in the ring with a champion like that

Right so there’s that part but there’s also the part where like when you get hit and all your rationale just collapses and you want to run but you can’t run and the it just a Confluence of events but yeah and probably really terrified have you ever felt you ever

Been in that position before in your life experience never like I love no experiences good or bad they’re just they there yeah you need them adventure adventure building boys need boys need Adventure absolutely through adversity so you enjoying it you’ve enjoying The Spar in yes Toby cabel is playing um Sal

Lead lead lead role as your boy in the film how do you think he’s doing how are you doing great yeah it’s hard it’s a hard job and and I think you know us doing that motivates his process and like prep feeds each other so if you see

Another guy on the other side of the fence going really hard then you have to go hard and then if you see him going hard it’s because if I had to turned up here this week and just sparred Toby yeah and he’s under the cush and he’s

Getting bruises and bangs and I hit him in with a body shot yes and I done him didn’t I I mean I was looking to do him but I got him I mean before that he move a little bit of a body shop he tickled

The old rib cage of the Cobra yes he did and the Cobra saw red I’m referring to myself as a cobra saw red CRA saw I thought I’ve got to get you back so I got him back you saw it and then you didn’t want any

Part of it so I want part that I had my day yeah you had your day and it was good and then Toby he stuck with it and he came back the next day and he carried on so he’s becoming the boxer in this film and I find that fascinating because

To me you’re actors you’re educated you’re articulate You’ve Got High IQs I can tell by when I speak to you but actually you want to get in there and take punishment you don’t need to box but you’re jumping in there because you want to feel what s has to go through

Well I want Toby to see me do it and I want I want Toby to know I’m seeing him do it so he don’t feel like he’s on his own as well well so then when we get in the scenes where where we got to love

You each other and I’m looking in his eyee and he knows that we we don’t have to fake the experience we went through it together you’re a bit like a shark right if you go swimming with a shark with your best friend it bonds you you know fighting is like other than other

Than sex and murdering somebody the most intimate thing you could do with another man is to fight and so watching so it’s a mad intimate experience and watching him do that and him watching me do that and being around for it is a bonding experience yeah this has been this for

Me this has been such an i in w has been awesome yeah same to work with the the producers and the directors yeah and and kind of have a new experience in into like the film industry yeah and I might I might even get a little Cameo rolling

Out but I’m not really too interested in playing a part I’m prepared to have a little go we’ll see you will me it’s we’ll wait and see how that works out but for me to have my part in getting um Sal but even as a tech advisor like

That’s a a whole another adventure I want these fight scenes to look authentic I want people to believe them make them look real and I’m excited for it and I think this film’s going to be awesome I’m not being biased just from where I’ve been I think this is going to

Be special I think so too so yeah you’ve also I’m here for a week here in New York in Bedford New York you’re also going to come to Nottingham you’ve got to learn how to speak some from Nottingham yeah hang out with your brother yeah Dad shopping car all that

Chips and gravy no that’s further up north I ignore everything El said chips and gra too far what that’s like that’s like Cockney no that’s like more Yorkshire yeah a bit further up no cck’s down south okay Captain the [ __ ] Tequila’s live yeah that’s South yeah that’s South and Liverpool is North

Liverpool lipol is like Northwest but Liverpool’s totally different I forget about Liverpool yeah toward toward it’s a different yeah okay yeah towards towards that way yeah there a huge learning nottingam you you’ve Al you’ve already started thinking about the Nottingham accent and you’re picking up some of my words not house but you’re

More you’re more travel you’re more traveled than my gu I am a little bit more traveled yeah I’ve spent a lot of time in London I’ve been you’re a four time world champion around the world FR 80,000 ofer yeah Hall of Famer so yeah so all that you’re going to spend some

Time that’s where I was getting you’re going to spend some time my brother brother Lee on the renovator on the building side and you just want to get stuck in on I’ve got to get some footage of you just like help down with that brick is laborer all for a couple of

Days but there the inside jokes the speed the the sensibilities all all of it yeah watching him with other dudes yeah yeah it’s going to be it’s going to be good okay shab Bo ready the Hollywood Superstar yeah sitting here with a Hall of Famer yeah would you say we’re on

Like level or no no no no no you’re way no no you’ve got the you’ve got the master suite though how did that work well you put me in there yeah but I got here first yeah but you put me in there I did see that’s respect no no you cuz

We were fighting over it maybe it’s a British thing but I didn’t want to be up there I wanted to be back there no no I made sure you got the sweet no I think what you did was you went up there and you saw that it’s two separate beds and

You were like these beds suck it’s a big room but these beds suck so you’re going to sleep there so I know did there no curs let’s call it respect and there’s no curtains yeah there’s no curtains yeah we U we we we sorted it out anyway

Yeah we figure it out so what I’m going to do is if you don’t mind okay I’ve got 12 quick fire questions okay um and I’m going to ask you and you’ve not seen these no so just whatever comes to your head first okay so have a look what we

Got for you first round what is your favorite ever movie raging ball is that it raging ball and it’s a boxing film Rober Dao yeah greatest performance ever of all time is that is that course it is yeah raing B yeah best performance ever laid down by any actor Ever of all time

Without a doubt what would you say that’s the the ultimate that’s the the Pinnacle that’s the Sugar Ray Leonard of acting what about what about em and casino cuz that’s one of myv good movie but not a better performance than Raging Bull see I can’t argue with the the

Quality of the performance cuz you obviously know what you’re talking about extraordinary yeah extraord at the time that he did that he like revolutionized cuz before him it was Brando had like reinvented the wheel and then for about 30 years there was nothing until you get

To Theo and Raging Bull and that’s when all the Christian Bale stuff started the massive Transformations the stopping the movie taking eight months off gaining weight losing weight it’s when he it was like nobody had ever seen anything like that change the game change the game crazy that’s crazy and it’s a beautiful

Movie score sty like on fire right there and it’s a boxing movie boxing movie but it’s also a movie about Brotherhood and bond yeah of course it is that movie is like you and Lee but Lee is not peshy yeah you wouldn’t muscle Lee around like how he muscled peshy

Around but the love is similar and the dysfunction is similar yeah I get that you know what it’s amazing how you you see that from spending a bit of time with me you’ve seen looking at you had a good chat with but also if you if you

Watch you guys online you can kind of yeah you’ve you’ve done your homework it’s crazy it’s a little bit freaky for me to know how you know that mine and my brother’s relationship is and the kind of relationship we’ve got yeah and the kind of highs and lows that we’ve been

Through together also because me and Lee are similar I know what motivates that kind of behavior he’s got an addictive personality yes yes and you’re similar yeah very you both so right question number two who’s your closest friend in Hollywood oh uh Berto John Berto John

Berto for those who don’t know who he is yeah or Brolin or sha or not the name drop but I got a core group of like five guys that really hold me down when I’m oh really yeah that really love on me older guys that really keep me in check

You know Bernthal probably the closest though okay so he’s like my closest contemporary Toby is another one you know to you know Toby for years probably not seen him for what 8 nine years yeah probably eight nine years but I’ve known him for like I’ve known him for like 12

And he wanted you in this movie that’s how I found out about this yeah he emailed me like hey what are you doing yeah yeah and then then I saw the videos that the directors had made then I read the script then they told me about you

And then then I show that was the A on the cave you find out the cob I said wait a minute you mean that guy you mean that guy who who knocked that dude out wimbley in front of 80,000 I’m there yeah you know he know he knows who I am

Yeah yeah see Char knows who I am he knows where I am are you familiar with David Bren from the office yeah yeah yeah I’ve stole a few of his life what annoys you the most in life apart from me what annoys me the thinking about myself thinking about

Yourself yeah so that’s that annoys you the most the most fair enough sweet cuz I’m always miserable I’ve never happier thinking about myself more the more I think about myself the more miserable I am and it’s annoying cuz I can’t stop yeah you know I just can’t stop I feel

Like you say things that are negative sometimes but you say them with a smile yeah yeah like when I was sparing with you I slipped your jab throw a big uppercut right in the Bread Basket and you wined and your breath went but then you laughed you was giggling you got hit

With a shot and you was laughing you like so now you’re smiling all the time I feel like you’re what I mean that’s what I mean I didn’t know how to laugh I didn’t know how it’s great to see um have you got a hidden talent I uh hidden talent

Um I could wiggle my ears really yeah it’s kind of whack yeah it’s not I should have probably said nothing yeah maybe yeah well let’s they’ll cut cut that part out no Impressions I’m not good at Impressions that’s a different kind of acting like there’s two different versions can you

Rap I can rap do R that’s a hiden talent yeah I can rap a little bit which what can you rap no God what can you w no I’m not doing it no absolutely not n scratch it the next no no hidden talents you’ve got hidden talent What’s

Your favorite genre of music uh probably rap yeah probably rap oh come on rap you got some rap in you there’s one in I do this is my upbringing there’s a salt and pepper in this see we didn’t used to box we used to battle rap that’s how we like

Would Spar there’s a bit of Snoop Doggy Dog in there a bit of Biggy small yeah yeah he’s in there is it he’s not coming out it he’s look look right here look that’s Biggie oh yeah yeah there he is yeah Christopher Wallace yep hold on a is Christopher Wall Christ

Christopher W it’s Chris W so [ __ ] Brent it’s proper Brent is it let’s just keep going where are what’s what’s Brent David Brent the office I don’t know when you’ve Charmed me yeah feel the blank yeah the way to sh’s heart is oh my kid y yeah kid nice totally resonate

With that yeah are you a big boxing fan yeah you are yeah who’s your favorite fighter right now probably jantes Davis because I’m javante Davis yeah probably you know what he’s a bad boy yeah it’s probably that it’s he’s electrifying from Baltimore I know he’s not yeah him

Shakur like that whole weight class that whole division that whole division quite a tight fight in his last out other than Ryan all of those guys that they promote are fire yeah yeah javante Davis had some tough upbringing from boltimore yeah I don’t like that Ryan guy at all

Ryan Garcia I hate him yeah do he hate him I don’t hate him I don’t hate nobody did quit Davis with one he quit but also I heard a story about his girl got pregnant gave birth and then he divorced her the next day and I thought a you got

Yeah you’re garbage yeah fair enough cuz even if you feel that way one divorce is off the menu but even if you feel that way dog wait a minute she just got out of the hospital room you know I mean then he’s like tweeting about it like a little just yeah

Yeah um so what’s your favorite sport boxing anything to do with golf no I don’t like golf no I don’t like golf no it’d be boxing and then football and then American football or soccer American football American football heard you met met American football I don’t remember asking you a damn thing

American football you’re supposed to laugh then you didn’t laugh there we go so you do like American football I love American football yeah yeah Tom Brad yeah I mean I you got to respect him I can’t believe them them front what are they called scummers fromont when

They’re at the front offensive line they got like a two-year career average it’s get battered it’s it’s hard I listened to a podcast a guy called Derek wolf he was on with um what’s his name Joe Rogan and I was just listened to his life and

He’s broke his neck he paralyzed on the pitch yeah he’s taking mushroom before he went on like they go through some series they make big money in a short space of time their bodies get absolutely hammered so you got respect that but Tom Brady was at the P was he

Yeah he was like he had a long career into his 40s he not yeah that’s right you got to respect him he was fire for a while um favorite place you visited and why s Sebastian Spain cuz that’s where really might San Sebastian Spain yeah me

And my girl we had done a movie and then we biked from Germany down to San Sebastian like our first date really that’s where that is that Mainland been is on the coast yeah it’s Coast it’s Coast is northern northern part all right I’m not familiar with it I got

Place in my bay right on the sou tip yeah Spain’s awesome I love it come out to Spain we yeah definitely come out me my brother you yeah yeah we’ll get a couple of right couple of homeboys and we have a we’ll have a good time maybe

Get Toby out there he’d L it we’ll do that yeah we’ll get to Spain we’ll sort it um biggest fear oh biggest fear death I mean biggest fear not even biggest fear uh does that worry you because you just said that straight away death that was your fear that’s smile Le that’s

That’s all he worries about yeah I mean I didn’t used to and then I had a kid you know and now but but you you got so you’re worried about not being there yeah that’s yeah that’s what I mean so yeah just not being able to but now you

Found God and you you’re so see the thing I believe in we don’t believe in death you know yeah you’re not worried about we believe in life Everlasting but my physical body I’d like my physical body to be here at least through my child was adulthood yeah yeah I get that

I get that so 12th and Final Round Yeah question if you could have a boxing match yeah against um another actor who would it be oh and why boxing match against another actor and why walking Phoenix or really yeah probably why cuz I think he’s the best and you want to so

You you think he’s the best but you want to punch him in the face no well I mean well I mean but but but like like the all the guys that you fought part of you respects them at a certain level absolutely yeah so like I wouldn’t want

To fight nobody for no reason if you’re going to go out you got to go after the biggest if if you’re going to have to you know plus yeah he yeah I I just really respect what he does and I love him from afar I love him so you want to

Share so you think like as if I’m going to have the most intimate experience about to say an intimate moment yeah you want to do with the best in a boxing mat for sure Ja Jack Phoenix was amazing in W the line he’s amazing amazing but when

He played Johnny C I played the guitar I forgot a guitar yeah no I usually I can get the guitar out and do the BR there but you B the guitar no better we don’t have it Johnny Cash what the line incredible what a film yeah he’s everything

Brilliant 12 rounds we’re done thank you very much thank you very much that’s it it was it 12 rounds with sha boo I good was that this has been another 12 rounds but this has been a special one with a special talent shab boo Hollywood Superstar brought to you by Cobra Casino

I was waiting for you to C any no I was going to let you have it I don’t want to step on your toes sponsored by Cobra Casino it’s sponsored by Cobra Casino my man my guy sh La Bo don’t forget to like share and subscribe to this wonderful

Channel thanks for watching see you next time