Actor Shia LaBeouf became visibly emotional during a recent interview when asked what he would say if he ever met Jesus Christ.

The 39-year-old actor, best known for his roles in Transformers and the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, paused when YouTuber Andrew Callaghan asked him the deeply personal question during an interview released recently.

LaBeouf’s response was simple—but powerful.

“I wouldn’t say s—,” the actor said. “But I’d kiss Him.”

Fighting back emotion, LaBeouf added, “I’d kiss His feet. I wouldn’t say nothing.”

The moment caught both men off guard. After a pause to gather himself, LaBeouf told Callaghan, “Chill out with these questions, Andrew,” while the interviewer admitted he didn’t expect the question to provoke such a strong reaction.

The conversation also touched on LaBeouf’s recent legal troubles following an alleged altercation during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans.

According to reports, the actor was arrested in connection with a Feb. 17 incident outside a business on Royal Street. Court records state LaBeouf faces charges related to alleged battery after police said a video shows him pushing one person to the ground and striking another in the face.

Authorities were called to the scene around 12:45 a.m. after two individuals reported being assaulted. LaBeouf was later taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries before being arrested.

A local entertainer identified as Jeffrey Klein told The Associated Press that he was among those involved in the altercation.

“He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times,” Klein said.

LaBeouf has since acknowledged his actions and accepted responsibility.

“I was drunk, and then I felt infringed upon in terms of my proximity,” he told Callaghan when discussing the incident. “But I wasn’t in my right mind, and so it’s on me.”

When asked what may have caused the confrontation to escalate, the actor admitted he doesn’t fully understand what was happening at the time.

“I have no idea, bro,” he said, before referencing his Catholic faith.

“I don’t know what was going on in my head, but it don’t matter,” LaBeouf continued. “I mean, the truth is, I said words not OK to say.”

He added that his faith shapes how he views the situation now.

“I don’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings. That’s what I mean [when I say] I’m a Catholic. I’m wrong for what I did, is what I’m saying.”

The incident is not the first time LaBeouf has faced legal issues. In 2017, he was arrested in Georgia on suspicion of public drunkenness.

Yet the actor has also spoken openly in recent years about a spiritual transformation that began during one of his lowest points.

In a 2022 interview with Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, LaBeouf described the shame and despair he felt before his conversion to Catholicism.

“I had a gun on the table. I was out of here. I didn’t want to be alive anymore when all this happened,” he said. “Shame like I had never experienced before — the kind of shame that you forget how to breathe.”

LaBeouf said that season of brokenness ultimately led him to live in a monastery while preparing for his role in the 2022 film Padre Pio, where he portrayed the beloved Italian saint.

Raised culturally Jewish and once openly skeptical of faith, LaBeouf said he now believes God was at work in his life, even through his struggles.

“I know now that God was using my ego to draw me to Him, drawing me away from worldly desires,” he said.

For many watching his journey unfold, LaBeouf’s emotional response when speaking about Jesus is another reminder that faith often grows in the most unexpected places—and that even in life’s darkest moments, redemption remains possible.