Mel Gibson has spoken out in support of troubled star Shia LaBeouf.

The Braveheart actor said that his "heart goes out the poor guy" following his recent behaviour, which led to him being arrested at a Broadway performance of Cabaret last month.

The Transformers star is now seeking treatment for alcohol addiction, but has reportedly not checked into a rehab facility.

Speaking about LaBeouf to IndieWire, Gibson said: "It's a hard world. You're under a microscope. The loss of personal anonymity forever is a hard pill to swallow. You don't get an opportunity to put the toothpaste back in the tube. It never goes back in.

"You're a target. And you have to be really adept at tap dancing and dodging the bullets. And sometimes you get hit, and sometimes mortally. It's pretty bad."

The actor - who has previously struggled with alcohol addiction himself - added that LaBeouf must be "suffering" to have behaved the way he has in recent weeks.

"People are inclined to sort of point the finger at him and say that he's this, that, or the other," he said. "It's easy to judge. But I'm sure he's going through some kind of personal, very painful, cathartic thing that he has to exorcise and get out there."

Despite LaBeouf's problems, Gibson said that he is confident "he'll be all right", adding: "I actually like the kid. I think he's good. I've never met him."

Gibson recently reacted to Gary Oldman's remarks about his infamous anti-Semitic comments, saying that "eight-year-old story" is behind him.