10 Actors Who Tried Way Too Hard To Be Edgy

Shia Labeouf's weird attempts at being edgy have mainly taken place offscreen - his frequently tiresome performance art springs to mind, as does his generally disorderly public behaviour. Even during his most insufferable period in the mid-2010s, however, he has remained a talented actor with a charismatic screen presence.

A series of short films directed by Labeouf in 2011 and 2012, while receiving some acclaim, were nonetheless pointedly transgressive and a little pretentious. His third short, entitled Howard Cantour.com, ended up drawing attention for all the wrong reasons however. Following the titular film critic and his exploits, the film reflects on how a review can either save or sink a film regardless of its quality. Although initially garnering widespread critical acclaim, there's a nagging feeling that there may be some personal grievances from Labeouf at play.

Worse still, news soon emerged that the film was clearly derived from a comic by Dan Clowes with an almost identical plot and theme. Labeouf had not sought permission from Clowes or even credited him for his work whatsoever. After being issued a cease and desist, Labeouf then tweeted out a set of obviously insincere apologies which had been fashioned on other, unrelated apologies from other public figures. Multiple layers of plagiarism. Embarrassing.