Bryan Cranston has delivered a sharp dig at Shia LaBeouf after his Malcolm in the Middle co-star Frankie Muniz revealed he had been set to star in Holes before dropping out, with Cranston’s advice to LaBeouf cutting right to the point.

In a new Esquire video interview, Muniz, 40, told Cranston he had been attached to play the lead role of Stanley Yelnats in Disney’s 2003 film before a competing offer arrived. 

“I was signed to be in the movie Holes, and it was 100% about to start filming and then Cody Banks was greenlit,” he explained. 

“They were like, ‘Which one do you want to do?'” Muniz chose Agent Cody Banks, despite pressure from those around him to take the more dramatic role. 

LaBeouf stepped in and the rest is history, Holes helped launch his career.

Muniz was reflective about the road not taken. 

“I wonder what my career or life would’ve been [had I done Holes instead]. What could’ve come with it? Would I have been taken more seriously as an actor?”

Cranston’s response was instant. 

“You could’ve had Shia LaBeouf’s life,” he said with a sarcastic scoff and a whistle, before adding: “Keep that one in. Shia, get some help!”

The comment lands with weight given LaBeouf’s recent history. 

Just last month, the actor was arrested in New Orleans after getting into a fight during Mardi Gras. LaBeouf’s troubles predate the New Orleans incident. 

He was court-ordered to attend rehab following a 2017 arrest in Georgia for public intoxication, and a lawsuit filed against him by FKA Twigs alleging sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress was settled last July.

Muniz, meanwhile, appears to have made peace with his decision, noting that his path led him back to Malcolm in the Middle and, eventually, a very different kind of life as a NASCAR driver.