Michael Douglas Warned Shia LaBeouf Not to Date His ‘Wall Street’ Daughter Carey Mulligan
Actor Shia LaBeouf was briefly involved in a relationship with his Wall Street Money Never Sleeps co-star Carey Mulligan. But their relationship was something that Michael Douglas, who played Mulligan’s father, felt would’ve been a bad idea.
Michael Douglas didn’t think Shia LaBeouf and Carrey Mulligan would end well
LaBeouf and Mulligan first met on the set of the Dougas feature Wall Street Money Never Sleeps. The film took place decades after the first Wall Street, with Douglas reprising his role as the conniving Gordon Gekko. Mulligan played his daughter in the film, and LaBeouf portrayed Mulligan’s fiancé. But after working alongside each other, life would imitate art. LaBeouf and Mulligan fell for each other in real life, enjoying a brief relationship with each other.
In an interview with GQ, LaBeouf gave a bit of insight into his feelings towards his Wall Street co-star. Although he still kept certain details to himself.
“I never really had anything in my life that was off-limits,” LaBeouf said. “But with this, just out of respect, I just don’t want to f*** around. She’s an unbelievably thought-provoking actress, the most talented actress I’ve ever met in my life, by leaps and bounds. Neither one of us are fame whores. It works out. It’s not like we’re the premiere couple; we’re not the red-carpet king and queen.”
The couple would later split in 2010, however. But it was a break-up that their co-star Douglas might have seen coming beforehand. Which was why the Golden Globe winner advised LaBeouf to avoid dating her in the first place.
“I warned Shia about that. I told him, ‘Do not get involved with your leading lady. Trust me. Whatever you do, don’t do that,’” Douglas once said according to Irish Examiner.
Why Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeouf broke up
LaBeouf confided that his relationship with Mulligan didn’t work out due to their differences. They had incompatible goals and motivations at the time, which ultimately led to them going their separate ways.
“Sensibilities, cultures, histories. There were differences, that’s all,” LaBeouf once told The Times (via Daily Mail)“She’s happy as hell right now, and we wouldn’t have been able to make it like that. She was chasing marriage, family, kids more than I was.”
LaBeouf also alluded to the fact that Mulligan wanted to get married. But the Transformers star wasn’t interested in a committed relationship back then.
“I’m not opposed to marriage. I just think I’m quite young,” LaBeouf said. “I come from divorce. I’m only doing marriage once. It’s not a game for me. I’m not a religious person, but I have ethics.”
The two would later settle down with different partners. Mulligan married singer Marcus Mumford, who she shares two children with. LaBeouf settled down with fellow actor Mia Goth. They recently gave birth to one daughter.
Why Carey Mulligan didn’t like her ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ role
LaBeouf and Mulligan had two different reactions to being in Money Never Sleeps. Mulligan was left disappointed with her part in Douglas’ Money Never Sleeps. Despite enjoying her time on set, she felt there wasn’t much to the role.
“It was a great experience doing Wall Street, but it didn’t feel there was a depth to the character. It didn’t grip me in the way I wanted.” she said in an interview with The Guardian.
Whereas LaBeouf saw working with Douglas as surreal.
“He’s got a nice way of easing everybody’s tension,” he said. “When you walk onto a set like this, where it’s sacred ground, there’s a legacy at stake. But your mascot puts you at ease.”
He also admired Douglas for his strength, as he knew the veteran actor was facing challenges in his personal life at the time.
“He is a wolf, and he is a strong man. And I know of his vulnerabilities. When he came to set… he was dealing with a lot, but never was it, ‘Woe is me’. Ever,” LaBeouf once told Us Weekly (via Digital Spy).
