Passers-by begged Shia Labeouf not to commit suicide during the making of blockbuster Transformers, unaware the actor was shooting a scene at the time.

The 21-year-old was filming in Los Angeles when director Michael Bay hung him over the edge of a tall building - shocking people on the street 50 stories below.

LeBeouf tells American magazine People, "We were on top of the Orpheum Theatre about 50 stories up and Michael Bay decided it would be a good idea to hang me off the side by my toes. One wire was the only thing keeping me from falling."

"There's all these people looking who don't know we're filming, and they're yelling, 'Don't jump!'"