Olivia Wilde explains why Shia LaBeouf was fired from ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

Following her feature filmmaking debut with 2019’s acclaimed teen comedy-drama Booksmart, Olivia Wilde‘s next directorial offering is about to hit theaters this fall in the form of psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling. The movie has inadvertently enjoyed a lot of extra attention thanks to the much-publicized romance between Wilde and leading man Harry Styles, which came out of their working relationship on the movie.

But things could’ve been much different for both Wilde and the film itself if Shia LaBeouf remained on board the production as was originally planned. As the actress-turned-filmmaker recalled in an interview with Variety, while Styles was always the first choice to star opposite Florence Pugh, he was initially unavailable. This led Wilde to cast LaBeouf in his place.

In the early days of filming back in 2020, however, the Pieces of a Woman actor vacated the project, with the studio citing scheduling conflicts. For the first time, Wilde has now come forward to admit that this was not the whole truth and LaBeouf was actually let go from the movie due to the, in her words, “combative energy” he brought to the set. As she revealed:

“I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work. His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.”

A few months after this quiet parting of the ways, LaBeouf’s dismissal was proven to be absolutely the right move when the actor’s ex-partner FKA Twigs sued him for sexual battery, with the trial due to unfold next April. Since then, LaBeouf has taken a break from acting and has sought treatment for his personal issues. Wilde went on to say that she was “really troubled” by Twigs’ allegations but that she also wishes him “health and evolution.” Wilde continued:

“A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior. I find myself just really wishing him health and evolution because I believe in restorative justice. But for our film, what we really needed was an energy that was incredibly supportive. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”

As for how Styles eventually returned to the fold, his schedule had become free by the time of LaBeouf’s removal so Wilde was able to snap up her first choice of star and the rest is history. Also featuring roles for Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, and Chris Pine, Don’t Worry Darling opens in cinemas from Sept. 23.