Shia LaBeouf: 'Michael Bay is like a big brother'

Shia LaBeouf has said that he and director Michael Bay have formed a close bond while working on the Transformers films together.

The two both claim that new film Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be their last foray into the franchise, but LaBeouf has said that the two will always relish the chance to work with each other.

'[He's] sort of my big brother," LaBeouf told the Los Angeles Times, when asked about his relationship with Bay. "We're both very game, very passionate people."

"Sometimes it's not actor-director, sometimes it's two dudes yelling over explosions," he explained. "Sometimes it doesn't sound like the friendliest conversation. But we love each other."

The 25-year-old actor also has high praise for Transformers producer Steven Spielberg, who picked him to be the face of the franchise before casting him in his 2008 film Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

"Steven [Spielberg] introduced me to the world in a way," LaBeouf said of the legendary director. "The man has been incredible."

While LaBeouf also claimed that he is incredibly grateful for Bay's support, he revealed that he feels that the time is right to step away from the archetypal characters he has been cast as up until now.

"The work I've done with him, the character variation is not heavy. It's sort of all in the same vein," he reasoned.

LaBeouf will next appear opposite Tom Hardy and Guy Pierce in the John Hillcoat-directed independent film The Wettest County in the World.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is due out in US and UK cinemas on June 29.

Watch Shia LaBeouf in the trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon below: