Getty The first official photo has been revealed of the upcoming Borg vs McEnroe film, which sees Shia LaBeouf playing tennis ace John McEnroe.The Transformers and Indiana Jones 6 actor will appear opposite up-and-coming Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason, who has been cast as McEnroe's sporting nemesis Björn Borg.
LaBeouf recently compared himself to McEnroe saying that they are both "passionate, perfectionist, narcissistic". He added: "I’m a bit of a caricature also".
The first official photo of LaBeouf and Gudnason has now been released. See that below, along with a photo of Shia on the set of the film.
First image of Shia LaBeouf and Sverrir Gudnason as John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg from the upcoming movie "Borg/McEnr… pic.twitter.com/wRn5M9IA7c
— PiFiZone (@PiFiZone) October 4, 2016
Shia LaBeouf as Tennis Star John McEnroe in a new Biopic currently filming in Sweden... but does he look anything like McEnroe? pic.twitter.com/URpX7tsO5y
— Dom Atkins (@domatkins) October 5, 2016
Reacting to news that LaBeouf will portray him, McEnroe told Variety: "Supposedly [LaBeouf is] crazy. So maybe that works. I’ve never talked to him, so I don’t know how he could play me."
McEnroe went on to reveal that he has had no contact with LaBeouf regarding preparation for the role. He said: "I don't know if they are planning on doing the whole movie without input or any type of arrangement from me or Bjorn. I haven’t seen anything, and they’ve already started the movie."
"It doesn’t seem like they are all that interested in talking with me," McEnroe added. "I don’t know how you can do it without ever meeting me. Maybe you could talk to a few of my friends. I can barely remember what I was like 36 years ago when I was 21 years old. It could be entertaining. If it’s good, it’d be cool. Let’s hope."
McEnroe also appeared unconvinced that an actor could recreate the technical abilities of himself and Borg. "How in the hell is an actor going to do it on a court? It looks fake," he said. "They look like actors who can’t play. You see these guys, they go out there and they barely even know how to play tennis. Hopefully they’re focusing on stuff off the court. Unless they intertwine it [with] real footage. Then it would be cool, maybe."