'Call Me by Your Name' screenwriter reveals Shia LaBeouf almost starred opposite Timothée Chalamet

Call Me by Your Name became an instant classic because of the on-screen chemistry between Timothée Chalamet and the since-disgraced Armie Hammer as star-crossed lovers Elio and Oliver, respectively, in 1980s Italy.

According to an excerpt from James Ivory's memoir, Solid Ivory, published by GQ, Shia LaBeouf nearly got the part of Oliver instead:

"Shia LaBeouf was also dropped like that. He had been contacted for the part of Oliver. At this, I was doubtful. I didn’t know much about him, so I watched some of his films. He’s an extremely good actor. But as an academic writing about the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, he would be a stretch. Well, I thought, he would be a sort of diamond-in-the-rough-scholar type, like my friend Bruce Anawalt. Shia came to read for us in New York with Timothée Chalamet, paying for his own plane ticket, and Luca and I had been blown away. The reading by the two young actors had been sensational; they made a very convincing hot couple. But then, too, Shia was dropped. He had had some bad publicity. He’d fought with his girlfriend; he’d fended off the police somewhere when they had tried to calm him down. And Luca would not call him, or his agent. I emailed Shia to offer reassurance, but then Luca cast Armie Hammer and never spoke to, or of, Shia again."

The anecdote follows Ivory, who wrote the screenplay for Call Me by Your Name, describing how director Luca Guadagnino "dropped" him as his co-director without any explanation.

The 93-year-old filmmaker earned an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, however—his first victory after three previous nominations for best director throughout the late 1980s and early '90s: A Room with a View, Howards End and The Remains of the Day.

LaBeouf's "bad publicity" has extended well beyond Call Me by Your Name's 2017 release. The 35-year-old actor was sued last December by his ex-girlfriend, the musician FKA Twigs, for physical, emotional and mental abuse over the course of their nearly one-year relationship. He denied all allegations.

Prior to those allegations coming to light, LaBeouf was fired last September from Olivia Munn's forthcoming period drama Don't Worry Darling and replaced by Harry Styles because he "displayed poor behavior" on the set.