Shia LaBeouf always knew he was going to be a star!
The cast and crew of Even Stevens reunited for a virtual video chat on Wednesday, sharing fun stories and fond memories from their time on the beloved Disney family series.
The group — which included stars Christy Carlson Romano, Nick Spano, AJ Trauth, Lauren Frost, Tom Virtue, Steven Anthony Lawrence and more, as well as producers, writers, and crew members from makeup, wardrobe and casting — shared plenty of hilarious stories from their time on set. Among the moments were the pirate joke that landed Lawrence the part of “Beans,” an anecdote about the cast having to don diapers to jump in a vat of chili and, of course, an impromptu performance of Romano’s fan-favorite musical number, “We Went to the Moon in 1969.”
While LaBeouf, who played the eccentric Louis Stevens throughout the show’s three-season run, wasn’t able to join the reunion, the cast made a few quick shout outs to their former co-star. “We owe a lot of [the show’s] success to his raw talent,” Spano noted.
They also shared a hilarious story from LaBeouf’s audition process, which proved that, even as a kid, the Honey Boy star had the confidence of an A-lister.
“I feel like [Shia] told me this story or maybe Matt [Dearborn, Even Stevens creator and EP] or somebody told me this story, that, it was the auditions for Louis Stevens and Shia comes into the waiting room and starts introducing himself to all the other kid actors auditioning for Louis, saying, ‘Hey, I’m Shia, I’m playing Louis Stevens!” Trauth recalled.
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“That’s a true story,” producer David Brookwell confirmed. “Somebody came out of the lobby… saying, ‘Hey, Shia’s saying he’s got the part, and there’s another set of parents that are upset.’ So we had to pull him aside and say, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ and he’s like, ‘Well, you know, I’ve got the part, don’t I?'”
“That kid, you knew something was gonna happen with him,” noted Karen Toole-Rentrop, who worked on the show’s makeup department. “I met him he was eight… I’m happy for him, because he’s a good person and he’s gone through a lot, but you could see success in him from that age.”
In fact, the whole cast and crew had nothing but positive things to say about their time on the show, with many raving that it was the best working experience of their careers and crediting the young Even Stevens stars with creating a fun and easygoing on-set atmosphere.
“I’ve never seen an actor get a part faster than Christy Romano,” Dearborn raved. “Before she even got into the audition, you go, ‘That’s her. That’s it.’ And everybody knew it.”
LaBeouf spoke with 360aproko about possibly reprising his Even Stevens role while he was promoting his indie film The Peanut Butter Falcon last year. Although he shut down the possibility of ever taking on the Disney Channel show again, he fondly looked back at the experience.
“Yeah, I mean, I loved doing it. It was a lot of fun. But no, I haven’t thought about that,” he noted.
