Shia LaBeouf credits sobriety to Mel Gibson, Sean Penn

Shia LaBeouf has credited his sobriety to his friendships with Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin.

The Transformers actor converted to Catholicism after attending church services with Mel while researching his 2022 movie Padre Pio.

This week, Shia, 38, told The Hollywood Reporter he and Mel, 69, were still "very close".

"Yeah. Very close. Big respect, big love," Shia gushed. "He's always been very lovely to me. He held my hand when I was really s**tting on myself. Dude really stepped up for me in big ways."

Shia went on to describe a group of fellow actors who had suffered public downfalls as a result of their substance abuse, and who came together to support his new indie film, titled Henry Johnson.

"Him, Sean Penn, James Brolin - these guys got me to sobriety," he recalled. "They got around me and kept me alive. Sean also showed up and motivated me to do this as a play. I was scared as f**k when this thing started. He was there week one."

Shia was forced to confront his alcohol and substance abuse problems in 2017 after he was arrested and charged in Georgia for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.

Mel's journey to sobriety began in 2010, four years after his 2006 DUI arrest and subsequent roadside meltdown that included an anti-Semitic tirade.

Meanwhile, Josh, 57, got sober in 2013, when he was 45, and Sean, 64, has been open about the ways his substance abuse and drinking have negatively affected multiple marriages.