Star reveals unusual preparation for brash Transformers sequel
director’s chair, but Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky is no more, although the troubled star managed to steal some of the headlines from the release of his former franchise by being arrested for disruptive behaviour during a Broadway performance of Cabaret last weekend. It has since been reported he has checked himself into rehab.
Gone too (hopefully to drama school if she ever wants another acting role) is British model Rosie Huntington- Whiteley, who replaced Megan Fox as the eye candy in Bay’s none-too-subtle appeal to teenage boys.
In their place is Wahlberg, the 43-year-old former boy band member who is well placed to offer LaBeouf advice having turned his life around after spending 45 days in jail in his late teens for assault, and Nicola Peltz, the 19- year- old blonde beauty best known for her role as Bradley Martin in Universal Channel’s Bates Motel.
They play a father and daughter who discover a dilapidated Optimus Prime and decide to help him evade capture by the US government, who have now turned against the Autobots following the decimation of Illinois’Windy City.
“I loved the fact I was playing a dad with a teenage daughter, which is something I will be faced with in the near future – so it was good practice,” smiles Mark, who is dad to two daughters, Ella, 10, and Grace, four, as well as two sons, Michael, eight, and Brendan, five, with wife Rhea Durham.
“I hadn’t really envisioned myself in that role until recently, but that whole thing about having to deal with the boyfriend and stuff are things that I think about all the time.”
Shooting on the $165 million blockbuster took six months, filming in various locations across America before moving on to China (in a sign of the times, half of the budget was raised by a Chinese production company and the film had its worldwide premiere in Shanghai) for the decisive battle in the packed streets of Hong Kong.
Bay then got to work adding his trademark special effects and gimmickry, but calling Mark back some months later to reshoot a couple of scenes caused a small problem for the actor – as he was nearly four stone lighter.
“I had to come back for some pick- up shots and when Michael saw me, he freaked,” laughs Mark, who lost the weight to portray a literature professor with a gambling addiction for the remake of James Caan’s 1974 hit The Gambler.
“He was used to seeing me on the healthier side, but here I am skinny with long, stringy hair. He was like, ‘ You can’t look like that!’”
In the end, the director managed to film Mark in a way that obscured his own
transformation.