In a new magazine article, Shia LaBeouf offers many perspectives on his life and the challenges of acting and celebrity.

“Sometimes I feel I’m living a meaningless life,” he says, “and I get frightened.”

Creativity coach and therapist Eric Maisel, PhD warns in his article Meaningful Life, Meaningful Work, Meaningful Days, “In order for you to live an authentic, meaningful life, which is the principal remedy for the depression creative people experience, you must feel that 1) the plan of your life is meaningful, 2) the work you do is meaningful, and 3) the way your spend your time is meaningful.”

The article says “LaBeouf could very well lose everything, as other young stars have, his career wrecked by self-indulgence and arrogance.

“LaBeouf comes from an unconventional family with a history of addiction.

“He is aware, he says, of how disproportionate movie success is to actual achievement and how easy it is to be overwhelmed by a skyrocketing career.

“I don’t handle fame well,” LaBeouf says. “Most actors on most days don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my way.”

When LaBeouf is feeling insecure, he sometimes stops his bike on the side of a busy road to see if people passing by recognize him. He is scared that they won’t.

“Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions,” he explains. “I don’t understand what it is I do that people want. I don’t know what an actor does. I have no credentials. I don’t know what I’m doing.

“To my mind, talent doesn’t really exist. Talent is like a card player’s luck. It is motivation, ambition, and luck. It’s just a drive to be the best. I think acting is a con game.”

From The Mixed-Up Life of Shia LaBeouf, by Dotson Rader, Parade 06/14/2009

>NOTE by Douglas Eby: This title, and some of the comments in the article seem to me very negative, even insulting – with a tone of “Look at how crazy actors are.” Artists with high sensitivity, high intensity, strong emotional lives are not “crazy” but may be seen as “weird” by conservative reporters.

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