Toronto, Sep 12 (IANS): Actor Shia LaBeouf says making his biopic titled "Honey Boy" was similar to an exorcism.

"Honey Boy" tells the story of LaBeouf's turbulent childhood as he grew up with alcoholic and drug-addicted father. LaBeouf will star in the film, which he has penned while he was in rehab. He even shared some of his writing with his friend and director Alma Har'el, who has helmed the film.

"I was just sending her stuff that I was writing down. I had a flashlight and was rummaging through the attics of my soul trying to figure stuff out, figuring my past out…She was like, ‘Oh, this is a movie'," variety.com quoted LaBeouf as saying.

"Honey Boy" traces journey of LaBeouf -- from living in a seedy Hollywood motel with his father, his introduction to cigarettes and marijuana, becoming a child star, his struggle with substance abuse to the way he handled fame.

For LaBeouf, "Honey Boy" turned out to be therapeutic.

"You excise demons. This felt a little bit like an exorcism," he said.

"My whole team, my whole professional team, was not with it. They were not wanting me to do this. But at that point, I didn't have a whole lot to lose," he said while recalling his decision to make the film.