SHIA LaBeouf, who plays Karen Allen’s son in “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” says the new Indiana Jones adventure is quite a jump from last summer’s smash “Transformers,” in which he mostly had to react to giant robots.

“I had to learn a whole different set of skills, and do a lot of things like riding a motorcycle and fencing,” says the red-hot actor, who at one point duels Cate Blanchett – while they are both riding atop racing jeeps.

To help LaBeouf learn about the 1950s and his rebellious, leather-jacketed character, producer George Lucas gave him a collection of movies that included “The Wild One,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “The Blackboard Jungle.”

“I didn’t even know how to handle a switchblade,” LaBeouf says. “I’m just a nice Jewish kid from [Los Angeles neighborhood] Echo Park.”

George Lucas denies speculation that LaBeouf is going to be the main star of a fifth Indiana Jones film.

“That’s ridiculous,” Lucas says. “You can’t do an Indiana Jones film without Indiana Jones. And besides, I haven’t even come up with a story yet. This one took 10 years!”