The actor's bizzare antics included getting accused of plagiarism, attending the red carpet of 'Nymphomaniac' wearing a paper bag with 'I am not famous anymore' written on it, later inviting people to see him in an exhibition while he was still wearing the bag.
LaBeouf raised concerns about his well being when he disrupted a Broadway show of 'Cabaret' and got arrested. In the police station, the actor yelled, "Do you know who I am?" and then spat at an officer's feet.
"Man, I went through, like, an existential crisis, which turned into some explorations. I had some hiccups, some judgement errors," he told DeGeneres.
LaBeouf got treatment for alcohol abuse after the arrest, and pleaded guilty in court last month in a deal that involved no jail time or probation based on his cooperation and treatment since the arrest.
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The 28-year-old actor said being in jail sobered him up.
"Jail was quite scary," he said, adding it was "the worst time" as "they put a Hannibal mask on me" for spitting on a cop.
The actor said another thing that helped was an angry call from his Shayna, who told him to clean up his act.
LaBeouf said his 12-mile daily run is his "salvation".