Shia LaBeouf drops out of Broadway play over 'creative differences' with Alec Baldwin

Shia LaBeouf and Alec Baldwin had been due to appear together on Broadway in Orphans (AP/Getty)

After just a week of rehearsals, the actor Shia LaBeouf has walked away from his Broadway debut, with series of tweets issued by the 26-year-old Transformers star suggesting a clash with and his co-star, Alec Baldwin.

The production of Orphans, about two brothers who kidnap a rich businessman, was due to begin previews March 19. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Daniel Sullivan “became worried” about LaBeouf’s “performance choices” shortly before the actor was let go.

As the news of his departure broke, LaBeouf began tweeting screenshots of email exchanges between himself and the creative team. In one opaque message, LaBeouf appears to apologise to Baldwin while reflecting on what it means to be a man. “A man can tell you he was wrong,” he writes, “He can tell you when he is lost. He can apologise even if sometimes it’s just to put an end to the bickering. Alec, I’m sorry for my part of a disagreeable situation.”

An email from Baldwin reassured LaBeouf, “I don’t have an unkind word to say about you.” Another, from Sullivan, suggested the two performers were “incompatible... a different breed,” but that LaBeouf was nonetheless, “one hell of a great actor.”