Shia LaBeouf: Hollywood actor and 'weird figure' draws crowd of admirers with Oxford lift stunt

Word spread quickly as the Transformers star showcased his latest foray into performance art

Shia LaBeouf after 24 hours in the lift (Tom Pilston)

As the Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf emerged bleary-eyed from a nondescript building in Oxford he extended his arms and gave me a hug. “Nice to meet you,” said the 29-year-old star of the Transformers franchise before strolling away, trailed by a crowd of admirers.

LaBeouf had spent the previous 24 hours inside a lift at an English language college. He wasn’t trapped: he was showcasing a new piece of performance art, a field he has been exploring with remarkable gusto in recent years.

Dubbed #ELEVATE, the “act of enforced intimacy” saw LaBeouf and his two artistic collaborators, Nastja Ronkko and Luke Turner, occupying a tiny lift. Members of the public – some of whom queued for 12 hours for the privilege – were invited to join the trio in the elevator and ask questions.

LaBeouf – whose forays into performance art have included an appearance at the Berlin Film Festival wearing a paper bag on his head bearing the words “I am not famous anymore” – left the lift for an hour on Friday evening to address Oxford University’s debating society. He was inside the lift for the other 23 hours and forbidden to sleep.

The performance began with little fanfare on Friday morning when eight people gathered outside the lift for a chance to rub shoulders with the actor.

Word spread quickly and by Friday afternoon hordes had congregated outside the college.

As evening drew on some admitted defeat and slipped away, but plenty more prepared to bed down for the night.

“I was pissed after I left a club but I had to stay,” said Conor, a student, who spent an uncomfortable night waiting to meet the star.

Another student in the queue, 19-year-old Ellie, compared LaBeouf to music’s great attention seeker, Kanye West. However, she insisted, LaBeouf’s stunts are more meaningful than the hip-hop star’s antics.

“It’s like Marilyn Monroe,” she mused. “She wanted to be more than an actress. Shia’s gone from being an actor to something else .... He’s this weird figure now.”

The pair denied they were “fans” of LaBeouf, though, a sentiment echoed by the majority of the crowd lined up to meet him.

Word spread quickly and by Friday afternoon hordes had congregated outside the college (Tom Pilston)

At 8am two more students, Cameron, 24, and Joshua, 23, came out of the lift having enjoyed a lengthy theological discussion with LaBeouf after a 12-hour wait.

“He’s such a genuine, awesome guy,” Cameron enthused. “He kept stressing we are all equals.”

Joshua nodded, but added: “I’m not a fan.”

When LaBeouf finally left the lift at 9am he paused momentarily by the doors, allowing those outside to capture the moment on their phones. The elusive star quickly turned and climbed a flight of stairs to fetch his belongings.

As the crowd awaited his return, Conor remarked: “I don’t know why he didn’t just get the lift.”