With a smash hit thriller in "Disturbia" to his credit and the casting in a major role in the fourth "Indiana Jones" installment earlier this year, the phrase "The Year of Shia" has been bandied about quite a bit in the press in 2007 describing the accomplishments of actor Shia LaBeouf.

The interesting thing is, the real fireworks haven't even started yet. With six sparked-filled months behind him, LaBeouf will start July off with a bang as the human lead in the hotly anticipated summer blockbuster "Transformers."

It's been a year of transformation for LaBeouf, so to speak, from a former child actor ("Even Stevens") who made sound and diverse career choices ("Holes," "I, Robot" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played") and wise personal decisions (no erratic public behavior or arrest records) while transitioning into a bona-fide Hollywood superstar.

The great thing is, you'd never know it by speaking with LaBeouf, who's clearly humbled by his success. In a recent @ The Movies interview, he made it clear that he does not take his work for granted and pushes his limits on every project, if not sometimes to a fault.

He said that laid so much of himself out there for "Transformers," in fact, that he's finding himself more prone to having anxiety attacks.

"I went through a lot on that movie -- it was a real hard movie to make," LaBeouf said. "There's no way a movie can look like that, with a lot of stuff going on, and isn't a hard movie to make. It was physically demanding."

The guy demanding the physicality on "Transformers" was noneother than director and executive producer Michael Bay, the hyperkinetic force behind such action extravaganzas as "Bad Boys," "The Rock" and "Armageddon." And with "Transformers," opening July 3, Bay's rolling out the heavy machinery as the Decepticon alien race, led by Megatron, sets out to destroy the Earth -- unless the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, can stop them.

LaBeouf stars as Sam Witwicky, a teenager who, along with a girl with a past, Michaela Banes (Megan Fox), seeks the help of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, an Autobot that doubles as Sam's beat-up car.

Sam Witwicky is a derivative of Spike Witwicky in the 1980s cartoon series, LaBeouf said, but with an added twist: The character is infused with the emotional, coming-of-age sensibilities of a younger Michael Bay.

"The reason Mike's life is involved is because he remembers vividly the time he got his first car, his first kiss -- and he wanted to put that into the storyline ? and I'm the tool," explained LaBeouf who just turned 21. "I'm living through Mike's childhood, but in a way he never lived it before. The film is being told by Michael Bay, but through the eyes of a child."

And what a unique set of eyes Bay has, LaBeouf said.

"Michael Bay is an adrenaline junkie," LaBeouf said. "He's a coach. He's General Patton."

Essentially, LaBeouf explained, Bay has the sort of presence that makes you feel safe in the most dangerous of filmmaking situations.

"There are situations where there's a Huey helicopter above your head, and there's only 13 feet between you and death," LaBeouf said. "You need a Michael Bay around to say, 'We got to get this f---er done here.' You need that reinforcement."

Then LaBeouf paused, contemplating how a "quiet director" would handle a similar situation.

Slipping into a quiet, mimicking tone, LaBeouf said, "The quiet director would say, 'Uh, I was thinking about hanging you on the side of the Orpheum Theater, then lighting you on fire and blowing the roof up -- what do you think about that?'

"You don't want that guy in that situation," LaBeouf added, as he popped back into his fearsome Bay mode. "You want that guy who says, 'Get your f---ing s--t on, go hang yourself on the roof and we're going to light you on fire. Let's get this sucker done.' You want that guy."

That's not to say that LaBeouf didn't have time to enjoy working on the film, too. Like many kids that grew up in the '80s, "Transformers" was big deal to LaBeouf, so having the opportunity to work on the film got his gears turning.

Not only was he big into the animated movie from 1986, he got caught up in the world of the Hasbro action figures -- where the whole "Transformers" phenomenon originated.

"I was definitely into 'Transformers: The Movie' with Orson Welles -- my dad was big into Orson Welles and that's how I learned about Transformers," LaBeouf said. "Plus, a Transformers action figure was the equivalent of a male Barbie. It was the second-highest selling toy in the history of the world, so every time you went to a friend's house, there were Transformers all over the place. Transformers was a part of my entire upbringing."