Shia LaBeouf unrecognisable as 'fictionalised' version of his own dad in 'Honey Boy' trailer

Shia LaBeouf is transformed into a version of his own father in the first trailer for hiw new movie Honey Boy.

Written by the Transformers star, and directed by Alma Har’el, the semi-autobiographical story echoes that of his own life growing up as a child star.

It also echoes LaBeouf's complicated relationship with his father, in real life a Vietnam veteran and alcoholic who once pulled a gun on his son during a lucid flashback.

In Honey Boy, he's former rodeo clown James Lort who is bankrolled by his son Otis's acting work, but who is driving him towards fame to make up for his own failings.

Otis is played by Lucas Hedges as a boy and by Noah Jupe as a young man, with singer FKA Twigs and Natasha Lyonne also on the bill.

LaBeouf wrote the script for the highly personal movie as part of his rehabilitation programme after checking in for issues with drugs and alcohol, and has admitted he was 'falling apart' while writing it.

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It shows his younger self as a child actor appearing in TV shows – LaBeouf was the star of the Disney show Even Stevens in 2000 – and then latterly as an actor appearing in action movies, while also falling foul of the law, something LaBeouf did very publicly in 2017, with bodycam footage of his arrest in Savannah, Georgia, soon finding itself all over the internet.

The film debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year to rave reviews (it has 100 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes), and will also be screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

Produced by Amazon, it will be released in November. A UK release has yet to be confirmed.