Shia LaBeouf spooks out as lights go out on TV chat

Actor Shia Labeouf and late night host James Corden had a weird encounter on The Late Late Show on Tuesday night (18Oct16), when the studio lights went out.

The two stars were recalling when they first met at an audition for the film War Dogs, the day LaBeouf got out of jail for his unruly behavior at a New York theater play, when the TV set was plunged into darkness.

Freaked-out Shia was initially convinced the chat show host was pranking him, asking, "What are you doing, man...? Is this real?"

Corden assured him there was a technical issue, as the host's quick-thinking bandleader Reggie Watts played spooky Halloween music and sounds in the studio.

The host said, "It's never happened. It's real. It's not a bit (comedy skit). It's genuinely happening."

Suddenly the lights came back on and Corden and LaBeouf continued reminiscing about their odd first meeting in a stairwell outside the audition room for War Dogs - a film neither of them landed.

Shia gushed about making a good friend that day, telling the audience, "This is a very good dude, for real... like a nice-texts-when-you-need-them friend."

Jonah Hill and Miles Teller scored the leading roles in the war drama, which was released over the summer (16).