Even Stevens was a huge Disney Channel hit in the early 2000s… But the success affected the relationship between co-stars Christy Carlson Romano and Shia LaBeouf, who played brother and sister on the sitcom.
Opening up about their (nonexistent) IRL relationship in a new YouTube video Tuesday, Christy got as candid as ever while detailing her rise to fame, past with LaBeouf, and where they stand today.
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First off, the Kim Possible voice actress reminisced on the “very good on-screen chemistry” the duo shared, but explained that despite what it looked like on TV they “weren’t really close” off-screen. She’s not even sure they “were ever really friends.” Wow! The 37-year-old told viewers:
“Everybody always asks me this question. If we’re still in touch and we’re still friends. To be honest, I don’t even really know if we were ever really friends, but we were co-workers. 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.”
Laughing at that thought, the performer admitted she hardly knew what was going on in the child actor’s life outside of the set, adding she only really found out the extent later while watching his semi-autobiographical movie:
“Watch Honey Boy and it’s like, he’s a completely traumatized young man at the same time that I’m working with him.”
She added:
“I’m honored that people would think I would still be in touch with him because it means that we really did a good job of making you guys think that we were real-life brother and sister, but in reality, it just wasn’t like that. We weren’t really close.”
Had Romano known some of the “hardship” he’d faced, maybe things would have been different. The Cadet Kelly lead mused:
“I didn’t know a lot of the backstories about where [he and his mom] were living at that time and how much hardship they’d seen… I just kick myself because I wish, if I had known anything about him, I could have been more patient.”
Because they operated more like “co-workers” than friends, all Christy had to go off of was what she saw. And her first impressions of Shia weren’t so hot, she noted:
“Being around him felt dangerous. He’s really cool, he’s wild. He’s crazy Shia.”
It’s that persona that led to a lot of “animosity” between them. After all, they were young stars trying to make a name for themselves in one of the most competitive industries ever — of course they were going to butt heads and get insecure from time to time. Recalling day-to-day life filming the show, the vlogger shared:
“I took my job very seriously. You know, getting into character, remembering my lines, had a great time building this character. But over time it became a job. And you know, you’re tired from doing other things, trying to have a social life. I think he was dealing with so much more. I mean, honestly, when I look back, I just feel stupid. I know I’m not stupid because I care. And I think I did care even then. And I think that’s why we had a little bit of animosity. I always wanted him to really appreciate what I gave to him.”
She never did get that recognition — instead, she got a MAJOR slap in the face when the 35-year-old won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series in 2003. While accepting the award, Shia’s speech “really hurt [her] feelings” because of what was left unsaid:
“He was on the podium. I was sitting there with the rest of our team and he thanked like everybody at the table, but he didn’t thank me. But I was hurt at the time because I felt like since day one, it was him and me. It was, like, our show. But because it was so life or death for him, it was his show and I was just like around because I was a girl.”
Ugh. Such a stupid reason not to respect such an important co-star!
Things after this moment only grew worse as the Burn The Curtain podcast host recalled not working alongside her onscreen brother as much once their characters were given separate storylines:
“We were co-existing. I didn’t see him a lot. He started to really have his own life. The person that I knew, is not the same person now just based on all of this life experience that he’s had. And I’m not the same person that he knew.”
And once the show wrapped, any relationship they did have ended pretty definitively. The Transformers alum went on to become a “huge star” while Christy remained “frustrated” that he had “gotten a better agent [and a] better manager,” elaborating:
“We went from seeing each other every day to then not seeing each other for years to him being this like huge star. For a while, I think the ghost of who Shia was and who he became was really frustrating for me.”
To avoid those unwanted feelings, she steered clear of his content:
“I didn’t watch any of his movies. I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to watch them… I was a bit salty.”
Wow! That’s a really tough thing to open up about, being salty about someone else’s success — but it’s something we definitely have all felt at some point!
But as she looks back on those years, she admits does have “regret” about her decisions after the show compared to his:
“I kind of felt a little jilted by the whole situation. Here he is, making a big old splash in Hollywood. And here I am. I chose to go to college. And there’s consequences that come [with] that but, like, there was definitely an undercurrent of regret, but also an undercurrent of comparison. Sibling rivalry, if you will.”
The drama has “really mellowed out” now that “time” has passed, and she’s confident they’ll always share a “bond,” whether or not they see each other again, insisting:
“When you grow up with somebody in that particular way, at that particular time in your life, you’re bonded together. You can’t help but want to see the person succeed. You can’t help but want to see them get the help that they need or the support that they need or whatever it is that they need.”
The Connecticut-born artist insists they never officially cut one another off, their lives just diverted. They stopped being co-workers, and since that’s clearly pretty much all they were, that was it. She explained:
“I never really stopped talking to him. I think we just went [down] completely different pathways of life. You know, we were put together expected to create art together and grow up next to each other, but it didn’t make us family. And in a weird way, it also did make us a family because there’s only like 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of kids that are like working actors in a very specific part of their adolescents. So all the people that I know, I may not have seen them in years, but I guarantee if I saw him walking on the street, there would be a bond there that is undeniable.”
She did see him once after Even Stevens concluded though. It’s a pretty epic final moment, too! She recalled:
“I saw him at a club. We’d both been drinking. I was like, ‘You know, all of my friends want to hook up with you.’ He’s like, ‘You know, my friends want to hook up with you.’ It’s kind of a silly little last moment to have with somebody. It was one of those moments where I was just like, I didn’t really know what else to say to him.”
LOLz! Funny but also so sad that they’d experienced something so once-in-a-lifetime, yet they weren’t close enough to truly bond over it.
But tbh they do kind of sound like they could be brother and sister there!
Related: Christy Carlson Romano Reveals She’s 5 Years Sober In Candid TikTok!
As for what the future holds, she’s not sure. She mused:
“That’s a logical question to ask. People ask me that quite often, it’s a complex answer though. I have a very specific life. I am sober. I don’t drink alcohol, have a very specific amount of time and energy that I can put towards having anyone in my life. … If I’m around somebody or taking the time to invest in a friendship, it needs to be with somebody that I can trust [and] understands and respects me on an equal level.”
Yup, she’s still not totally over that Emmy speech or the way she felt belittled when Shia once suggested her career would wind up like Reese Witherspoon’s, telling listeners:
“I’m not sure how he ever felt about me, to be honest with you. He never really let me know. Sadly, I feel like there was a missed opportunity to bond. I have heard from other people that he stopped hanging out with people because he felt like their intentions weren’t pure. I get that. And you become a megastar, you don’t want to do that, right? You don’t want to hang out with people that you can’t trust, but it has nothing to do with celebrity and everything to do with your mental health.”
It’s a good point. As for whether she was bad for his mental health, well… she does admit she was salty at that time. It couldn’t have been the healthiest.
The Cutting Edge alum left things on a personal note by speaking directly to her co-star, in a message that is so sweet you’d almost forget all their “animosity!” She ended the video, expressing:
“Shia, if you see this, know that I love you. I’m sorry that we didn’t connect more when we were kids. And I really do hope that you are taking it one day at a time. Say hi to your mom for me, she’s a wonderful lady. Be well, because I’ll always love you.”
Wow!! That tell-all really packed a punch! Watch the full thing (below)!
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Does it bum you out that these iconic Disney siblings aren’t close IRL? We’re certainly curious to hear more of Shia’s side of the story now… Sound OFF with your thoughts in the comments (below)!
[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN/Avalon & Disney Channel/YouTube]
The post <i>Even Stevens</i>' Christy Carlson Romano Reveals Truth Behind 'Animosity With Shia LaBeouf -- She Was 'Salty' Over His Success! appeared first on Perez Hilton.