Unpredictable LaKeith Stanfield
From ‘Atlanta’ to ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ to ‘I Love Boosters’, Stanfield has built a career out of left turns and made them look inevitable.
Read the full story in Justsmile Issue 8, Shaping What's Next.
Photography Quentin de Briey
Styling Tony Irvine
Text Evan Nicole Brown
LaKeith wears jacket, shirt, jeans and scarf DIOR.
LaKeith Stanfield is haunting in Judas and the Black Messiah. He’s anxious and restless, frantic and suspiciously alert. His character—based on the notorious FBI informant William O’Neal—infiltrates the Black Panther Party in Chicago; it’s a biblical act of betrayal that’s risen to the level of Black American folklore, O’Neal serving as a cautionary tale for the guilt that riddles the “snitch.” His role in the assassination of revolutionary leader Fred Hampton is understood as a blow to the culture, and an indictment of the American government. In the film, Stanfield is eerily convincing. As the titular Judas, he slips effortlessly between modes of feeling, fiery, then threatening, then trustworthy, then tortured. This is a master class in emotional elasticity, a trait that can’t really be taught. Stanfield simply has it.
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‘It’s not about being fearless; it’s just about being courageous.’ – LaKeith Stanfield
Since his heart-wrenching feature film debut in 2013’s Short Term 12, the 34-year-old California native has risen to Hollywood’s upper ranks—an unusual feat for a character actor drawn to Black-led projects that resist easy categorization. Over the course of his 13-year career, Stanfield has seemingly bent the system to his will, earning a spot in mainstream conversations without compromising the cultural specificity of his roles. In doing so, he has carved out a subtly radical place in the pantheon of contemporary Black performance.
Jacket and jeans DIOR.
Read the full story in Justsmile Issue 8, available to order and subscribe here.
Justsmile Issue 8 cover featuring LaKeith Stanfield.
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