Shia ‘buys lunch for homeless vet’

Shia LaBeouf reportedly bought lunch for a homeless man in Los Angeles this week.

The 27-year-old Lawless star has been caught up in controversy since announcing he was retiring from being a celebrity in January.

But no controversial antics took place when Shia dined at popular Hollywood restaurant Tender Greens on Tuesday, Celebuzz reports.

Apparently the Transformers actor went out of his way to feed a hungry transient who begged for change outside the eatery.

"Shia shook his hand and said, 'God bless you,'" an onlooker told the outlet. "Then, he went back inside to his table to finish his food. He even bussed his own tray."

It is claimed the homeless man went inside to speak with Shia after he was gifted ice water and a salad by the actor.

And the Nymphomaniac star purportedly accepted the man’s gratitude with grace.

"It was a very nice thing to do," the eyewitness added, noting the vagrant identified himself as a veteran.

"He looked like he wanted to be left alone for the most part, but a fan approached him during his meal and Shia simply shook their hand. He seemed really nice during the whole thing."

Shia has been mired in controversy since the beginning of 2014, when the star announced on Twitter he was “retiring from all public life”. The statement was made after he came under fire for allegedly plagiarising graphic novelist Daniel Clowe's comic Justin M. Damiano with his short film HowardCantour.com.

Reports emerged in January he had been involved in a pub fight in London. The following month he dominated headlines once again after wearing a paper bag on his head for the Berlin Film Festival premiere of Nymphomaniac, Volume I.

Shia wore a black tuxedo to the event but covered his face with the brown bag, which had the phrase “I am not famous anymore” scribbled over it in black marker.