Michael Bay is the physical embodiment of style over substance, as he has always prioritized making his frames look cooler than making compelling narratives.

But excluding his extremely stylized visuals, which make Bay’s filmography stand out, the director is also responsible for putting Megan Fox on the map with the Transformers movies.

But Megan Fox, who was cast as Mikaela Banes in the movie, alleged that the Ambulance director only had two questions before casting the actress in the role.

Megan Fox Alleged Michael Bay Hired Her in Transformers Based on Two Factors

Transformers | Paramount Pictures
While Megan Fox has proven to be a capable actress, especially with her later roles since Transformers. Speaking in the 2007 The Making Of Transformers documentary, the actress alleged that she landed the role after a two-question interview with the Pain & Gain filmmaker.

The Jennifer’s Body Star recalled that Bay asked if she could run, and did she had a nice stomach, which led Fox to speculate that her role might involve running in a belly shirt, “hopefully not n-ked”.

She said:

“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 n-ked, but I’ll be running in a belly shirt, maybe.” 

Her speculations did turn up true, as viewers could recall her character wearing an exposed midriff in the first movie, and this role would eventually make Fox a prominent s-x symbol at the time.

Megan Fox Never Felt Preyed Upon

Even though Fox has been critical of Michael Bay‘s antics on sets, which many speculate was the reason behind her exit from the franchise, the actress clarified she was never “assaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a s-xual manner.”

Megan Fox recounts her selection process in Transformers
Michael Bay | Photo: Michael Bay/X
This statement of hers came after she shared a story of allegedly being s-xualized as a teen during her role as an extra on Bad Boys 2.

She said in a statement (via The Wrap):

“I know that a discussion has erupted online surrounding some of my experiences in Hollywood and the subsequent mishandling of this information by the media and society in general. While I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support, I do feel I need to clarify some of the details as they have been lost in the retelling of the events and cast a sinister shadow that doesn’t really, in my opinion, belong. At least not where it’s currently being projected.”

While the Transformers movies under Bay had their fair share of problems, without his visual flair, the franchise doesn’t hit the same, which was apparent with Rise of the Beasts.