United Kingdom, Sept. 2 -- Michael Bay thinks Shia LaBeouf is a "very good person", despite his personal issues.

The 61-year-old director, who worked with the 40-year-old actor on the first three movies in Transformers franchise, admitted he hasn't "checked in" with the star recently, but he was full of praise.

Asked what he would say to Shia, given his recent legal issues, he told TMZ: "He's a great guy. He's a great actor. I had an amazing time working with him, and I think he's a very good person.

"I don't know, I haven't checked in."

However, Michael did reveal that Shia phoned him around six months ago when he was at Universal Studios with his four-year-old daughter Isabel.

The blockbuster filmmaker said: "I have not spoken to S...