Shia LaBeouf and Alec Baldwin were set to share the stage in the 2013 Broadway production of Orphans, but things went south before opening night. Their tension reached a breaking point, leading to LaBeouf’s abrupt departure from the show. According to Baldwin, it all started with a clash in rehearsal styles that escalated quickly.
Baldwin claimed that LaBeouf had already memorized his lines before rehearsals began, while he preferred a slower approach. Frustrated by the pacing, the Transformers star reportedly snapped at Baldwin in front of the cast. Speaking to New York magazine, in the publication’s debut biweekly issue, Baldwin said (via Broadway Buzz): “One day he attacked me in front of everyone. He said, ‘You’re slowing me down, and you don’t know your lines. And if you don’t say your lines, I’m just going to keep saying my lines.’”
“We all sat, frozen. I snorted a bit, and, turning to him in front of the whole cast, I asked, ‘If I don’t say my words fast enough, you’re going to just say your next line?’ I said. ‘You realise the lines are written in a certain order?” He just glared at me.’”
The tension didn’t ease. Alec Baldwin took the issue to director Dan Sullivan, offering to quit the production himself. But the decision went the other way – Shi LaBeouf was fired. “He was shocked,” Baldwin later said (per Baldwin’s comments to New York magazine). “He had that card… that card you get when you make films that make a lot of money that gives you a certain kind of entitlement. I think he was surprised that it didn’t work in the theater.”
LaBeouf didn’t stay quiet. He posted email exchanges with Baldwin and Sullivan, showing that the director acknowledged their differences as “incompatible.” The emails also highlighted Baldwin’s lack of preparation, fueling the drama. Beyond Orphans, Baldwin had his own share of controversies.
Around the same time, he was dealing with backlash from his short-lived MSNBC talk show, Up Late. The network pulled the plug after five episodes following Baldwin’s alleged use of an anti-gay slur during an altercation with a photographer. Reports also pointed to his “diva-like behavior” behind the scenes as a factor in the decision.
During the same NY magazine interview, Baldwin didn’t hold back on his thoughts about MSNBC, calling the network “the same s**t all day long.” He took shots at Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, saying he was “neither eloquent nor funny,” and labeled Rachel Maddow as “phony” off-camera. Maddow, in response, dismissed the comments, tweeting, “I have never met Mr. Baldwin, either on-camera or off-camera. I wish him all the best.”
As the backlash mounted, Alec Baldwin admitted he was considering leaving New York altogether. He spoke about craving a quieter life in Los Angeles, hoping for more privacy with his wife, Hilaria, and their infant daughter.
In an open letter on Huffington Post, he vented about the relentless scrutiny of celebrity lives. “If quitting the television business, the movie business, the theater, any component of entertainment, is necessary in order to bring safety and peace to my family, then that is an easy choice.”
A decade later, the Orphans drama remains one of Broadway’s most unexpected behind-the-scenes feuds – one that left Shia LaBeouf “shocked” and Alec Baldwin questioning his place in the industry.
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