LaKeith Stanfield | |
|---|---|
 Stanfield in 2017 | |
| Born | LaKeith Lee Stanfield (1991-08-12)August 12, 1991 (age 33) |
| Other names | Keith Stanfield |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
LaKeith Lee Stanfield (born August 12, 1991) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut inShort Term 12 (2013), for which he was nominated for anIndependent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the filmsGet Out (2017),Sorry to Bother You (2018),Uncut Gems (2019),Knives Out (2019), andJudas and the Black Messiah (2021), the lattermost of which earned him a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Stanfield has also appeared in the filmsSelma (2014),Dope (2015),Straight Outta Compton (2015),Crown Heights (2017),The Photograph (2020),The Harder They Fall (2021),Haunted Mansion (2023) andThe Book of Clarence (2023). On television, he starred in the seriesAtlanta (2016–2022), for which he won aBlack Reel Award for Television, and in the horror seriesThe Changeling (2023–present).
LaKeith Lee Stanfield was born inSan Bernardino, California, on August 12, 1991,[1][2] and grew up inRiverside andVictorville.[3] His mother's name is Karen.[4] He has said that he "grew up very poor in a fractured family that was dysfunctional on both sides".[5] He decided to become an actor when he was 14 after joining his high school's drama club. He attended the John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center inLos Angeles,[5] where he was signed by an agency and began auditioning for commercials.[3]
Stanfield's first acting role was in theshort filmShort Term 12,Destin Daniel Cretton's thesis project atSan Diego State University, which won the Jury Award for U.S. Short Filmmaking at the2009 Sundance Film Festival.[5] A year later, he appeared in the short filmGimme Grace (2010). While continuing to keep his dreams of acting alive,[6] he went on to work a number of different jobs such as roofing and gardening, and jobs atAT&T and a legal marijuana dispensary, before he was contacted by Cretton to reappear in afeature-length adaptation ofShort Term 12. It was his first feature film role.[7] During production, Stanfield practicedmethod acting, distancing himself from the other cast members like his character.[3] He was the only actor to appear in both the short and feature versions.[8] The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2013South by Southwest film festival, and Stanfield was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.[7]
In 2014, Stanfield co-starred inThe Purge: Anarchy[7] andSelma, in the latter playing civil rights activistJimmie Lee Jackson. In 2015, he appeared in the filmsMemoria[5] andMiles Ahead.[9] He also starred in the fantasy horror thriller filmKing Ripple by filmmaker Luke Jaden,[10] and appeared in the music video for theRun the Jewels song "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)".[11] In 2015, he portrayed rapperSnoop Dogg in the biopicStraight Outta Compton.[12] In 2017, he playedL inAdam Wingard's adaptation of the popular Japanese fantasy-thriller manga seriesDeath Note, forNetflix. Also that year, he starred in the music video for the song "Cold Little Heart" by English singerMichael Kiwanuka,[13] and appeared in the critically acclaimed horror filmGet Out.[14] In 2018, he starred as Cassius "Cash" Green in the critically acclaimeddark comedy filmSorry to Bother You.[15][16]
In 2019, Stanfield starred as Nate Davis in theNetflix romantic comedy filmSomeone Great. In the same year, he played Lieutenant Elliot in the mystery filmKnives Out.[17] He had starring roles in the filmsThe Photograph (2020) andJudas and the Black Messiah (2021). His portrayal of FBI informantWilliam O'Neal in the latter was critically acclaimed and garnered him a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[18][19]
Stanfield performs under the stage nameHtiekal (his first name backwards) and is working on his debut album, titledSelf Control.[20] He is a member of the band Moors, withHrishikesh Hirway ofSong Exploder.[7][21]
Stanfield lives inLos Angeles.[22] Stanfield has a daughter born in 2017 with actressXosha Roquemore,[4][23] and a second daughter born in 2022 with artist Tylor Hurd.[24][25] In December 2022, Stanfield and model Kasmere Trice announced their engagement and by July 2023, they had privately married and had their first child together.[26]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Short Term 12 | Mark | Short film |
| 2013 | Short Term 12 | Marcus | |
| 2014 | The Purge: Anarchy | Young Ghoul Face | |
| Selma | Jimmie Lee Jackson | ||
| The Fires, Howling | The Staying One | Short film | |
| 2015 | King Ripple | King Ripple | Short film |
| The Ferguson Case, Verbatim | Dorian Johnson[27] | Short film | |
| Tracks | Lawrence | ||
| Dope | Marquis a.k.a. Bug | ||
| Straight Outta Compton | Snoop Dogg | ||
| Miles Ahead | Junior | ||
| Memoria | Max | ||
| 2016 | Live Cargo | Lewis | |
| Hard World for Small Things | Sev | Short film | |
| Snowden | Patrick Haynes | ||
| 2017 | Crown Heights | Colin Warner | |
| Get Out | Andre Hayworth / Logan King | ||
| The Incredible Jessica James | Damon | ||
| War Machine | Corporal Billy Cole | ||
| Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town | George | ||
| Death Note | Lebensborn Atubia / L | ||
| Quest | Diego | ||
| 2018 | Sorry to Bother You | Cassius "Cash" Green | |
| Come Sunday | Reggie | ||
| The Girl in the Spider's Web | Edwin Needham | ||
| Time of Day | Himself | Short film[28] | |
| 2019 | Someone Great | Nate Davis | |
| Uncut Gems | Demany | ||
| Knives Out | Detective Lieutenant Elliot | ||
| 2020 | The Photograph | Michael Block | |
| 2021 | Judas and the Black Messiah | William O'Neal | |
| The Harder They Fall | Cherokee Bill | ||
| 2023 | Haunted Mansion | Ben Matthias | |
| The Book of Clarence | Clarence /Thomas | ||
| 2024 | Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Ernest Cole (voice) | Documentary[29] |
| 2025 | Roofman | TBA | Post-production[30] |
| TBA | Play Dirty | Grofield | Post-production |
| Lear Rex | Edmund | Post-production | |
| Die, My Love | TBA | Post-production | |
| I Love Boosters | TBA | Filming | |
| The Wrong Girls | TBA | Filming |
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2022 | Atlanta | Darius Epps | 25 episodes |
| 2018 | Random Acts of Flyness | Himself | Episode: "What are your thoughts on raising free black children?" |
| 2019–2020 | BoJack Horseman | Guy (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2020 | The Eric Andre Show | Himself (co-host) | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Yasuke | Yasuke (voice) | 6 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2023 | The Changeling | Apollo | 8 episodes; also executive producer |
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "When My Train Pulls In" | Gary Clark Jr. | Keith |
| 2015 | "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" | Run the Jewels | Kid |
| 2017 | "Moonlight" | Jay-Z | Chandler |
| "Cold Little Heart" | Michael Kiwanuka | ||
| 2022 | "I Hate U" | SZA | |
| "Shirt" | SZA |
