Shia LaBeouf Nearly Starred in Call Me By Your Name with Timothée Chalamet

Call Me By Your Name nearly starred Shia LaBeouf and Timothée Chalamet as its central couple, screenwriter James Ivory has revealed.

In an excerpt from his new memoir, Solid Ivory, shared with GQ, Ivory — who wrote the script for the Academy Award-winning 2017 film — recalls how LaBeouf, 35, auditioned for the role of Oliver, the love interest of Elio (Chalamet, 25).

"Shia LaBeouf ... had been contacted for the part of Oliver. At this, I was doubtful. I didn't know much about him, so I watched some of his films," Ivory writes. "He's an extremely good actor. But as an academic writing about the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, he would be a stretch."

He adds, "Well, I thought, he would be a sort of diamond-in-the-rough-scholar type … Shia came to read for us in New York with Timothée Chalamet, paying for his own plane ticket, and Luca and I had been blown away. The reading by the two young actors had been sensational; they made a very convincing hot couple."

The screenwriter reveals that LaBeouf was pulled from consideration after "bad publicity," and Armie Hammer was tapped for the role of Oliver instead.

"But then, too, Shia was dropped. He had had some bad publicity," Ivory writes. "He'd fought with his girlfriend; he'd fended off the police somewhere when they had tried to calm him down. And Luca would not call him, or his agent. I emailed Shia to offer reassurance, but then Luca cast Armie Hammer and never spoke to, or of, Shia again."

LaBeouf has been accused of abuse by multiple women, including singer Sia and ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs. In 2015, LaBeouf was caught on camera while in Germany saying he "would have killed" his ex-wife Mia Goth during a fight if two locals hadn't intervened when they did.

In December 2020, LaBeouf was sued by Twigs, 33, for emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The singer claimed LaBeouf inflicted "relentless" abuse during their relationship, which lasted for over a year before Twigs left him in spring 2019.

Shortly after Twigs shared her story of abuse, Sia, 45, also came forward with her own experience, accusing LaBeouf of tricking her "into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single." The "Chandelier" singer added that LaBeouf "emotionally" hurt her, and called the actor a "pathological liar."

LaBeouf, who split with his talent agency and took a hiatus from acting after entering inpatient treatment earlier this year, denied "each and every allegation" brought against him by Twigs in a response to her suit filed in February.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.