If there’s one thing people still remember about Megan Fox, it’s her beauty. But back in the 2000s, this ended up causing a lot of buzz. Those were times when women in Hollywood were often overly sexualized, and Megan’s experience was no exception. Transformers was her first big lead role, yet almost nobody talked about her acting.
For years, Fox was mainly remembered for her image in the movie, sparking ongoing controversy around director Michael Bay. This issue resurfaced in 2020 when she spoke out again as a weird story began making the rounds.
How Megan Fox Was Cast In Transformers?
Megan Fox and Transformers are still two names that stand out, especially for the iconic scene where her character leans over a car engine. Back then, it stirred some controversy, although most people saw it as normal. A lot has changed since, and today, her casting and on-screen portrayal might have played out differently.
Michael Bay directed the 2007 film Transformers, which went on to gross over $700 million at the worldwide box office. The response was mostly positive, thanks in large part to the special effects that wowed audiences.
Even so, it’s fair to say that Bay isn’t exactly celebrated as a great director. His style has always leaned more toward visual aesthetics than deep narrative or character development. Transformers was no exception; when he cast Fox, his main goal seemed to be finding an actress who’d be willing to flaunt her body on screen.
In a making-of documentary, the actress shared how she was approached for the role:
The only thing Mike asked me when I was reading with him and auditioning, he just asked me if I could run. He’s like, ‘Can you run?’ I was like, ‘Well yeah, I think so.’ And the other thing he asked me, he goes, ‘Do you have a nice stomach?’ And I said, ‘Well, in my opinion, yes I do.’ So I figured I’m going to be running, hopefully not naked, but I’ll be running in a belly shirt, maybe.
Bay also opens up, admitting that he initially cast Fox for her appearance. It didn’t hurt that she didn’t have any major productions on her resume at the time, which seemed to elevate the director’s status as if he had “discovered” her.
In all her scenes, Fox wears short clothes designed to show off as much skin as possible. While this aesthetic matched the fashion of the 2000s, it’s a bit surprising today to realize that Bay didn’t try to hide his intentions with her in the project. The focus seemed to be more on her revealing outfits than on her character.
However, this didn’t sit well with many, and over time, rumors began to circulate about the entire situation.
Megan Fox Responds To Accusations Of Being Sexualized During Auditions With Michael Bay
Fox was in her early 20s when she auditioned for Transformers, but even before that, she had a small role in Bad Boys II, where she worked with Bay. In 2009, she discussed the behind-the-scenes experience of that movie on Jimmy Kimmel‘s show, and her comments were quite revealing. (via The Guardian)
The video of the interview was dug up on the internet in 2020, where Fox admitted that she was 15 when she was filmed in a bikini dancing under a waterfall as a test. Other than that, a report in the Observer — sister paper to The Guardian — said that she had been asked to wash the director’s car as part of her audition for Transformers.
In response to the criticism of Bay and all the fallout, the actress took to her social media to refute accusations that her audition for Transformers was opportunistic, sharing more details about her experience:
While I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support, I do feel I need to clarify some of the details. (…) I was not underaged at the time and I was not made to ‘wash’ or work on someone’s [car] in a way that was extraneous to the script. When it comes to my direct experiences with Michael [Bay], and Steven [Spielberg] for that matter, I was never assaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a sexual manner.
She also stated that she was around 19 or 20 years old at the time and emphasized that was “at no point undressed or anything similar.”
Transformers quickly evolved into a franchise, but Fox was replaced after the first two films. This change came after she criticized Bay in an interview, describing him as “a nightmare to work for” and stating that “he wants to be like Hitler on his sets.”
According to Bay, her dismissal was part of a decision made by Steven Spielberg, who was the executive producer of the project.
