With an ironic t-shirt nowhere to be found, Shia LaBeouf proved he hasn't lost his hipster cred -- despite all those "Transformers" movies -- by rocking a grizzly beard in L.A. on Thursday.

Being almost unrecognizable is so cool.

The man who tried to calm down Shia LaBeouf moments after the beatdown in Vancouver last week tells TMZ ... the actor threatened to pull a knife on him in the wake of the fight ... but he never actually flashed a blade.

TMZ spoke with Shea Carter ... the man who restrained Shia after the fight ... who tells us he noticed the actor inside the Cinema Public House bar BEFORE the melee. Carter says LaBeouf had been drunkenly swaying into several patrons ... including one man who calmly warned Shia, "Hey man, watch out."

Carter says Shia replied, "Oh yea? Or what? What are you going to do about it?"  That's when the two decided to take things outside ... and the guy beat Shia down to the ground.

Click here... it's not over yet

Shia LaBeouf wasn't showing any after effects of the beating he took last week while riding his bike in Vancouver today – and this time he made sure it was only his tires that made contact with the street.

As we previously reported, Shia was on the losing end of a brawl outside a Vancouver bar while in town shooting “The Company You Keep” with Robert Redford.
 
Looks like "Transformers 2" did more damage to Shia than Mr. Topless Hairy Belly man.

Shia LaBeouf was repeatedly PUNCHED IN THE HEAD by a shirtless, hairy-bellied man on a Vancouver sidewalk last week -- and TMZ has obtained footage of the brutal ass whooping.

It's unclear exactly what provoked the attack -- but we're told Shia originally got into it with the man inside a bar called Cinema Public House ... and after security kicked them both out, the man tore off his shirt and unleashed the fury all over Shia's face.

Moments after the attack, Shia tries to chase after the guy -- but someone who appears to be his friend holds him back, telling him, "You gotta lay low right now!"

A rep for Cinema Public House tells TMZ, no one on staff noticed the brawl outside -- but the rep confirms ... Shia has been a regular at the place since he's been in town to shoot "The Company You Keep."

The same day news broke he once hooked up with Megan Fox when she may have still been with Brian Austin Green, Shia LaBeouf walked hand-in-hand with his current girlfriend Karolyn Pho in NYC on Tuesday.


Nothing like a little PDA to strengthen your relationship.

Shia LaBeouf says he totally got down with Megan Fox before she was fired off the "Transformers" franchise ... there's only one little catch -- she may have been dating Brian Austin Green at the time.



LaBeouf gave a tell-all, no-holds barred interview to Details.com, in which the interviewer asked point blank if Shia ever hooked up with Fox ... and according to the article, "LaBeouf nods affirmatively."

LaBeouf explained, "Look, you're on the set for six months, with someone who's rooting to be attracted to you, and you're rooting to be attracted to them."

"I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry onscreen."

But here's the CRAZY part -- the interviewer says he asked if Megan was dating B.A.G. during their hookup ... and LaBeouf replied, "I don't know, man. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. . . ." repeating the phrase exactly 12 times with various intonations, as if trying to get it just right.

LaBeouf eventually said, "It was what it was."

A rep for Megan Fox tells TMZ, "We have no comment." 

Shia LaBeouf has been a constant irritation at an L.A. sports bar recently -- with patrons complaining about his drunken, violent behavior ... even before a fight left him in handcuffs this weekend.



TMZ spoke with sources connected to Mad Bull's Tavern in Sherman Oaks, CA -- who tell us, the actor has been hanging around a lot lately ... but, "Every time Shia comes to the bar, he's a problem and it's starting to get old."

We're told Shia was the instigator in another testosterone-fueled incident just a few weeks ago -- in which bar staff had to break up close to 15 people before an intense pushing match turned into an all-out brawl.

As for Shia's fight this weekend, Mad Bull's owner Richard Disisto tells us, "The boys were out drinking, boys had too much to drink, one guy comments to the other and the next thing you know someone gets punched. Whattya gonna do? It happens."

As we previously reported, cops arrived to the scene and put Shia in handcuffs -- but he was never arrested.

Shia LaBeouf was placed in handcuffs after a fight at a bar last night, but was eventually released ... TMZ has learned.


It all went down at Mad Bull's Tavern in Sherman Oaks, CA.  Sources at the bar tell TMZ, Shia is a frequent patron of the establishment. According to witnesses, he got a little rowdy and ended up getting punched in the face.

Sources close to Shia paint a different story -- they say Shia was jumped on his way out of the bar. They say police arrived on scene shortly thereafter, cuffed everyone involved, and eventually let Shia go. Police have no record of any arrests being made.

Sources close to the actor say the security guard at the bar backed up Shia's version of events.

We took your questions on everything -- including Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva squaring off in court, Demi Lovato not in treatment for drugs, and Shia LaBeouf's parking foul.


Plus: Conan O'Brien's ratings are through the roof.

Shia LaBeouf allegedly committed a heinous and egregious vehicle infraction -- stuffing his pickup truck into a compact parking space and pissing off some guy in a Porsche. Quick, call the FBI.


It all went down last weekend at an L.A. shopping center where Shia's cockeyed parking job ended up blocking the Porsche's driver side door. It's definitely a dangerously tight fit, but it also looks like Porsche dude could've crawled through his passenger side door and took off.

Instead, he shot video, snitched Shia out to a mall cop ... and waited 40 minutes for Shia to return and face intense questioning.

So, we gotta ask... 

With Megan Fox nowhere in sight, Shia LaBeouf and his new leading lady, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, filmed scenes for "Transformers 3" in L.A. the other day.


A movie that Megan is actually in -- "Jonah Hex" -- came in eighth place at the box office this weekend with $5.1 million.