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"James Franco has said that he &amp;quot;empathises&amp;quot; with Shia LaBeouf in relation to his recent behaviour. The Spring Breakers star has written an essay for the New York Times in which he tried to explain LaBeouf&amp;#039;s headline-grabbing antics, comparing him to Marlon Brando in the process.   LaBeouf was recently accused of plagiarising the work of graphic novelist Daniel Clowes in his short film Howard Cantour.com. Last week, he opened a bizarre art installation in Los Angeles called #IAMSORRY. Franco wrote: &amp;quot;This behaviour could be a sign of many things, from a nervous breakdown to mere youthful recklessness. &amp;quot;For Mr LaBeouf&amp;#039;s sake I hope it is nothing serious. Indeed I hope - and, yes, I know that this idea has pretentious or just plain ridiculous overtones - that his actions are intended as a piece of performance art, one in which a young man in a very public profession tries to reclaim his public persona.&amp;quot; LaBeouf&amp;#039;s art installation included him sitting in a room with a paper bag on his head that read, &amp;quot;I am not famous anymore&amp;quot;, while visitors spent an unspecified time alone with him in silence. Franco compared the actor&amp;#039;s behaviour to that of Joaquin Phoenix&amp;#039;s I&amp;#039;m Still Here documentary. However, Phoenix later stated that his change in persona was fake for the movie. He wrote: &amp;quot;Actors have been lashing out against their profession and its grip on their public images since at least Marlon Brando. &amp;quot;Brando&amp;#039;s performances revolutionized American acting precisely because he didn&amp;#039;t seem to be &amp;#039;performing&amp;#039;, in the sense that he wasn&amp;#039;t putting something on as much as he was being.  &amp;quot;Off-screen he defied the studio system&amp;#039;s control over his image, allowing his weight to fluctuate, choosing roles that were considered beneath him and turning down the Oscar for Best Actor in 1973. &amp;quot;These were acts of rebellion against an industry that practically forces an actor to identify with his persona while at the same time repeatedly wresting it from him.&amp;quot; Referencing his own career, he added: &amp;quot;At times I have felt the need to dissociate myself from my work and public image. In 2009, when I joined the soap opera General Hospital at the same time as I was working on films that would receive Oscar nominations and other critical acclaim, my decision was in part an effort to jar expectations of what a film actor does and to undermine the tacit - or not so tacit - hierarchy of entertainment.&amp;quot; Franco concluded that he hopes LaBeouf doesn&amp;#039;t ruin his career, saying: &amp;quot;I think Mr LaBeouf&amp;#039;s project, if it is a project, is a worthy one. I just hope that he is careful not to use up all the good will he has gained as an actor in order to show us that he is an artist.&amp;quot; Last week, Shia LaBeouf also quoted Eric Cantona&amp;#039;s infamous &amp;quot;seagulls&amp;quot; statement during a press conference for the movie Nymphomaniac. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a552607/james-franco-empathises-with-shia-labeouf-compares-him-to-brando/>