Shia LaBeouf: 'Jail was scary'

Shia Labeouf has described his recent stint in jail as "scary" and issued a public apology to the cop he spat on during his arrest, calling his own behaviour "crazy".

The Transformers star was detained by police in New York City in June (14) for disrupting a production of Cabaret and later pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.

He was alleged to have scuffled with cops at the time of his arrest and spat at one of the officers, and LaBeouf has now issued a public apology during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

He tells the host, "Jail was quite scary... I was in jail. I was there for, it felt like forever, I think 24 hours or 25 hours... It was no good... This was the worst time. I really went all the way with it - they put a Hannibal (a spitting) mask on me and a lead jacket. It was very scary... I spit on a cop. That's a no, no. I'm sorry, if you're watching dude, I'm sorry. That was crazy, man..."

LaBeouf also reveals a stern phone call from his mother prompted him to turn his life around, adding, "She called me, she was like... 'Stop f**king around'... It's been a process, I'm quite stubborn... Now I'm on the right path, thank you mom."

The actor was ordered to complete six months of alcohol rehabilitation treatment as his punishment. The criminal charge will be removed from his file if he maintains his good behaviour.

The interview airs on Friday (10Oct14).