It’s a question that just about every actor faces after working on a beloved show with other beloved actors: “Do you still talk to them?” In Christy Carlson Romano’s case, that question is generally being asked about her former “Even Stevens” co-star, Shia LaBeouf. And, in a new video, Romano is setting the record straight on why she’s not still in touch with him.
“To be honest, I don’t even really know if we were ever really friends,” Romano admitted to kick off the video. “But we were coworkers. We had this sort of, like, very good on-screen chemistry. People assumed that we were, in real life, brother and sister and that, in real life, I had an influence over what this guy did.”
Romano then went into detail about her first time meeting LaBeouf, and what their relationship at the time of the Disney Channel show was actually like. By her recollection, she took her job extra seriously, and that led to “animosity” between them.
“I always wanted him to really appreciate what I gave to him,” Romano said. She then recounted how, when LaBeouf won an Emmy for his performance on “Even Stevens,” she was actually very hurt that he didn’t thank her in his acceptance speech.
The big caveat to Romano’s video, as she notes, is that she wasn’t fully aware of the circumstances surrounding his personal life and his family. In 2019, LaBeouf starred in “Honey Boy,” a film he wrote about the early years of his adolescence, and the traumatic relationship he had with his abusive father.
“The only thing that I can say is that I really do kind of wish, at the time that I was younger, I would have given him a little bit more time and energy and love, like a real sister,” Romano said. “I really kind of regret that.”
In terms of whether or not she would talk to her former on-screen brother again, Romano admitted that it’s a complicated situation for her, given her own circumstances in life. That said, she still wishes him all the best (and definitely wants him to say hello to his mom for her).
You can watch Romano’s full explanation in the video above.
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