Shia LaBeouf’s Missy Elliott tattoos

Shia LaBeouf has two Missy Elliott tattoos on his knees – but isn’t a fan of the rapper.

The 30-year-old actor bonded with his cast mates in low budget ‘American Honey’ – in which he plays the leader of a gang of thieves who sell magazine subscriptions on a cross-country road trip – by getting a new inking in every place they visited, and he finished the seven-week shoot with 12 new inkings.

He said: "We bonded hard. You do whatever is required for it to be true, for it to be honest. I had to run this group, sort of like a pimp.

"One of the things we’d do as a group, we’d all go to the f***ing tattoo shop."

Of the Missy tattoos on his knees, her said: "I don’t love Missy Elliott like I wanna get two Missy Elliott tattoo.

"But you’re in a tattoo parlor, and… peer pressure."

The movie has seen Shia – who has been arrested numerous times in the past and sought treatment for alcoholism – tipped for an Oscar nomination but the actor, who has never been invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, insists he is "not that guy" because of his reputation.

He told Variety: "Nah, dude, not me.

"The Oscars are about politics. I gotta earn my way back. It’s not about who is the best. I’m not that guy for a long time — for a long, long time.

"I’m good with that, though. Sometimes that s**t is a curse."

The ‘Nymphomaniac’ star admits that if an actress had the same troubled personal life he’s had, their career would be over.

He said: "It’s a double standard, for sure.

"Women require grace for longevity. I don’t think men require grace. You can be Mickey Rourke."

And Shia – who is engaged to actress Mia Goth – thinks his checkered past has led him to his current career as he works with filmmakers who want a "loose cannon".

He said: "I don’t think I’d be working with the directors I’ve been working with if I had not f***ed up a bit.

"They wanted a f***ing fireball. They wanted a loose cannon.

"I’m learning how to distill my ‘crazy’ into something manageable, that I can shape and deliver on the day.

"[Before now,] I was an open wound bleeding on everything."