Shia LaBeouf’s chest-covering Tax Collector tats are real and fans are hyped

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

If dedication to a role is the name of the Hollywood game than let it be known that Shia LaBeouf is a hardcore MVP!

Back in January, writer/director David Ayer revealed to SlashFilm that LaBeouf got his whole chest tattooed for his upcoming role as Creeper for the director's latest feature, THE TAX COLLECTOR. This not insignificant detail about LaBeouf's dedication toward playing the character seemed to go under the radar at the time, but ever since the first trailer for Ayer's film debuted earlier this month, fans are now calling attention to the actor's extensive ink.

"He's one of the best actors I've worked with, and he's the most committed to body and soul," Ayer had told Jack Giroux at the time of the interview. "He had a tooth pulled on Fury, and then on Tax Collector, he got his whole chest tattooed. So he kind of goes all in, and I've never known anyone that committed."

While many have been under the impression that LaBeouf had gone under the ink-filled gun for his role as a crime boss tax collector, artist Bryan Ramirez has said that it was actually LaBeouf's parents that inspired a significant portion of the epic tattoo design. 

Praise for LaBeouf's ink comes not long after Ayer caught heat for LaBeouf's Creeper role. It all began when the first trailer for THE TAX COLLECTOR arrived online, which gave many the impression that LaBeouf was playing a Latino character in the upcoming film. After being called out on Twitter, Ayer responded by assuring fans that the actor is playing "a whiteboy who grew up in the hood," as opposed to LaBeouf acting out the film while being guilty of 'brownface'.

Now that Ayer has set the record straight, many fans are back to celebrating LaBeouf's bold move to have his entire chest tattooed, in part, for the sake of the film.

While I don't consider myself to be too invested in LaBeouf's silver screen shenanigans, I will absolutely pay respect where it is due. It takes a certain kind of something to permanently associate yourself with a character that you play on screen, and I'll be damned if LaBeouf hasn't proven himself to be hardcore with this move. My hat is off to you, good sir. This is some next-level stuff.

Directed and written by David Ayer (BRIGHT, SUICIDE SQUAD), who co-produced the feature with Chris Long and Tyler Thompson, THE TAX COLLECTOR stars Shia LaBeouf, Bobby Soto, George Lopez, Lana Parrilla, and Elpidia Carrillo. In the film, David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf), are “tax collectors” for the crime lord Wizard, collecting his cut from the profits of local gangs’ illicit dealings. But when Wizard’s old rival returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended, and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family.

THE TAX COLLECTOR will be released in theaters and on VOD on August 7, 2020.