In case you haven't gotten the memo: Shia LeBeouf is a seriously, serious actor now. Okay? If he's playing Balto, you better believe he only eats kibble with the rest of the pack for the 10-weeks he sled trains in Alaskan blizzards. If he's voicing KITT in the latest remake of "Knight Rider," does he get body-altering surgery so radical it blurs the line between man and machine just to look like a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am? Is there any other way to prepare? No -- Shia's method, man.

The "Transformers" star is out to prove he'll brave any extreme for his craft, apparently, even dropping acid for a new role. In a USA Today profile, LaBeouf reveals he set aside a day for a real acid trip to play scenes where his character in "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman" is on acid. "There's a way to do an acid trip like 'Harold & Kumar,' and there's a way to be on acid," LaBeouf says. "What I know of acting, Sean Penn actually strapped up to that (electric) chair in 'Dead Man Walking.' These are the guys that I look up to."

Recently, LaBeouf also hit the bottle pretty hard to play a hard-drinking bootlegger in the Prohibition-era crime drama "Lawless," which sees release Wednesday. Even though he gave up alcohol years ago after he was involved in a bar fight and a car wreck, LaBeouf admitted he drank real moonshine to prepare for the part. "My drinking on this movie was as undestructive as I could possibly make it, if that makes sense," he told the New York Post. "I did it for the movie. I didn't drink off set for no reason. I did it because, when I showed up on set the next day, my eyes looked like this and my face ... had that drunk bloat that I needed, that I couldn't have if that wasn't going on."

"Moonshine is different than liquor. Moonshine is closer to heroin," he added. We can only hope he's not hinting at his next method-work.

LaBeouf's next movie doesn't revolve around drugs or alcohol, but addiction is still at it's core. There's not much information out on the film, but it's called "The Nymphomaniac," so, you do the math. Based on his penchant for choosing challenging material, the 2013 Lars von Trier film sounds perfect for the 26-year-old: it reportedly requires the actors be willing to engage in real sex on film. Spoiler: LaBeouf will courageously sacrifice himself for his work once again.

"It is what you think it is. There's a disclaimer at the top of the script that basically says, we're doing [the sex] for real. And anything that is 'illegal' will be shot in blurred images. But other than that, everything is happening."

Directed by Danish provocateur Lars Von Trier, known for controversial dramas like "Dancer in the Dark," "Dogville," "Antichrist," and most recently "Melancholia," "Nymphomaniac" is a two-part film about the sexual awakening of a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg). LaBeouf describes working with a director like Von Trier as "a big deal."

Von Trier says, "My DP on ["Melancholia"], Manuel Claro, at one point voiced a surprising prejudice. He urged me not to fall into the trap that so many aging directors fall into - that the women get younger and younger and nuder and nuder. That's all I needed to hear. I most definitely intend for the women in my films to get younger and younger and nuder and nuder"

The cast includes Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Shia LaBeouf, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, Jamie Bell, Jens Albinus, Jesper Christensen and Nicole Kidman.

"He's very dangerous. He's the most dangerous dude that I've ever showed up for. I'm terrified," the actor admitted. "I'm so terrified, which is why I have to go. We'll see what happens."

In fact, Shia claims there are no limits to what he'll do for Lars Von Trier.

"(I'll do) whatever's asked," he vowed to MTV News. "It's going to be a wild movie."

LaBeouf should be prepared for the role when it comes time to film. The actor, who cut his teeth on the Disney channel, recently appeared completely nude in a new Sigur Ros video. The eight-and-a-half-minute video for "Fjogur Piano" shows LaBeouf naked and caressing the bare breasts of his female co-star. He said people have been responding well to the video so he feels "quite confident" about his performance.

Even though he spends so much time in the buff lately, LaBeouf asserts he doesn't want to be type-cast for these sorts of racy roles, he's "not choosing to be naked all the time." He "didn't get into (acting) to be a porn guy."

All this unsimulated sexing, nudity and frivolity should be good practice for another role as well: LaBeouf is rumored to be in consideration for the sexy role of Christian in the film adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

 "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman" will debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January. "Nymphomaniac" is slated for a 2013 release.