After abruptly departing the Broadway project, Shia shows support for his replacement as writing, 'BEN FOSTER IS A BEAST. HE WILL KILL IT.'
- Feb 22, 2013
AceShowbiz - Producers of "Orphans" Broadway play has already found a right actor to replace Shia LaBeouf. On Thursday, February 21, it was confirmed that actor Ben Foster had signed on to tackle the lead role of Treat in the show.
Shia quickly took to his Twitter account to express his support for Ben. "BEN FOSTER IS A BEAST. HE WILL KILL IT," so he wrote. Ben himself had previously auditioned for the role, but he had never been involved in a Broadway project before. He's expected to begin rehearsals on Friday.
Ben is known for his performances in such movies as "Alpha Dog" and "The Messenger". He also starred in "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "3:10 to Yuma".
As reported yesterday, Shia LaBeouf abruptly quit the project after having "creative differences" with the producers and his co-stars. He was expected to star opposite Alec Baldwin and Tom Sturridge in the play.
The 26-year-old actor then posted screenshots of private emails between him, director Daniel Sullivan and Alec. In one mail, he apologized to Alec for "my part of a dis-agreeable situation," to which Daniel replied that "Alec is who he is. you are who you are. you two are incompatible. i should have known it."
Alec, meanwhile, assured the "Lawless (2012)" star that there's no bad blood between them following the younger actor's exit. "I've been through this before. It's been a while. And perhaps some of the particulars are different," the "30 Rock" star stated.
"But it comes down to the fact that what we all do now is critical. Perhaps especially for you. When the change comes, how do we handle it, whether it be good or bad? What do we learn? I don't have an unkind word to say about you. You have my word."
On the other hand, Tom Sturridge was surprised with Shia's departure from the play. He wrote to Shia, "I went in this afternoon and they were all there ... producers etc. I said my piece, but they didn't really listen. I don't understand what has happened here."
"Orphans" follows the story of Treat. He was an orphaned thief who supported his mentally ill little brother. One day, Treat kidnapped an older gangster called Harold and he soon realized that he might have found a father figure he'd been longing for. Alec is set to play Harold, while Tom will play Treat's younger brother Phillip.
The show is set to be previewed on March 19 and opened on April 7 at the Schoenfeld Theatre.
