Borg/McEnroe film portrays epic rivals

Shia LaBeouf says watching himself perform as the fiery tennis great John McEnroe was a "cathartic" experience.

The 31-year-old actor, who has garnered a reputation for his own outbursts, said on Thursday he could draw "a lot of parallels" with his life and the athlete's.

LaBeouf stars in Borg/McEnroe, a film which centres on the lives of his character and his reserved opponent Bjorn Borg and their famous Wimbledon final in 1980.

The actor has had several high-profile run-ins with the law, most recently in July when he was caught on camera hurling abuse at officers arresting him for alleged public drunkenness.

He later apologised, describing the incident as a "new low", and acknowledged he was struggling with addiction which he said he would seek to beat.

Reading the script and watching the film back was "cathartic", he told a press conference ahead of the film's world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.

"I'm very proud of the movie and I think it expresses something I feel deeply and I'm honoured to have been a part of this and be able to share it," he added.