Forget Marlon Brando, Shia LaBeouf Is the Worst Actor Francis Ford Coppola Has Ever Worked With

It takes a certain level of creative madness to create something like Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola‘s long-gestating film that finally saw its release in 2024 after his script sat on the shelves for over 40 years. The legendary director fully realized his passion project with this self-financed, freewheeling portrait of an artist at his most unyielding. As a result, Megalopolis baffled most viewers who bothered to see it, and it seemed like a misbegotten idea and execution for a filmmaker who directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Between the tumultuous production and the self-assurance of his own vision, the movie succinctly represents Coppola and his vision.

He also learned that he doesn’t mesh well with one of his stars, Shia LaBeouf, who he cited as the most difficult actor he’s ever worked with — a damning indictment from someone who had to put up with Marlon Brando‘s antics twice. The chaos of their relationship was unveiled to the public in an insightful and candid documentary, Megadoc, which takes viewers behind the scenes of the most ambitious, beguiling film of the decade so far.

Francis Ford Coppola and Shia LaBeouf Didn’t Get Along While Filming ‘Megalopolis’

Directed by Mike Figgis, best known for Leaving Las Vegas, Megadoc, streaming on the Criterion Channel, takes a peek behind the curtain of Francis Ford Coppola’s idiosyncratic brain and artistic process, starting from the film’s rehearsals to its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The highlight of the documentary, for better or worse, is the tense conversations between Coppola and Shia LaBeouf, who stars alongside Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, and Aubry Plaza. The two quarrel over the tiniest details of how LaBeouf is supposed to play a scene, and his constant pushback against his director visibly aggravates Coppola as the movie’s scope grows to maximalist heights.

Near the end of Megadoc, LaBeouf spoke with Figgis and shared an unflattering anecdote. According to the Transformers star, Coppola told LaBeouf, “You have been the biggest pain in my f—ing ass of any actor I’ve ever worked with.” Taken aback by this scathing comment, LaBeouf responded with, “Really? Any actor? Did I show up f—ing 700 pounds overweight in the jungle? Did I quit 10 days before we wrapped?” referring to Marlon Brando being unprepared and tardy on the set of Apocalypse Now. Coppola described LaBeouf as “not reasonable” in the documentary, further adding, “He drove me nuts, but his performance is great.” Coppola later wrote the actor an email apologizing for his blow-up, blaming all the stresses of the film’s production.

In the film, LaBeouf plays Clodio Pulcher, the envious cousin of the protagonist, Cesar Catilina (Driver), an architect who envisions a better world, who vows to undermine him for political power. Like everyone in the cast, his performance is outlandish, and he speaks in such a stilted and artificial manner that it defies the standard notion of skillful acting. However, in Coppola’s strange world, LaBeouf fits right in.

‘Megadoc’ Is a Fascinating Look Inside the Mind of Francis Ford Coppola

Megadoc is not the first documentary to examine the heart, mind, and soul of Francis Ford Coppola during the filming of an ambitious epic. Echoing 1991’s Hearts of Darkness, which vaulted Apocalypse Now‘s hellish production to the public consciousness, Megadoc reflects on its subject’s preternatural talents, hubris, and peculiar interests. Although the film ultimately errs on the side of admiration towards Coppola, Figgis shies away from making anything that could be categorized as propaganda for the director and his production company, American Zoetrope. It helps that there’s nothing performative about Coppola’s presentation while being interviewed or captured working his magic. His blind confidence — perhaps bordering on delusion — is completely sincere, and his love of art and expression keeps him passionate at 86 years old.

The main reason why Megalopolis was worthy of a feature documentary is because of the product itself, which is a bonkers cinematic fever dream that leaves you with more questions than you did before the movie started. Any insight into how such a bizarre work of experimental art in a mainstream medium was manifested into reality is more or less required. Figgis underlines the dissonance between the behind-the-scenes and the eventual final product. How could such a solemn, weighty production filled with heavyweight actors amount to a film with instantly meme-worthy silly moments, from Adam Driver’s “go back to the club” delivery to Jon Voight asking “What do you think of this boner I got?” The cast, including Shia LaBeouf, pays great respect to Coppola in Megadoc, although everyone seems a little unsure of what project they signed up for based on his directions. If Megadoc proves anything, it’s that auteurism is still alive and well.