LaKeith Stanfield Bio
LaKeith Lee Stanfield (born August 12, 1991) is an American actor and musician who has built one of the most distinctive careers of his generation. He made his feature film debut in Short Term 12 (2013), a performance that earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination and signaled the arrival of a major new talent. He went on to receive widespread recognition for his roles in Get Out (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Uncut Gems (2019), Knives Out (2019), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), the lattermost of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Stanfield is also known for his work as a musician performing under the stage name Htiekal.
Early Life and Background
LaKeith Lee Stanfield was born in San Bernardino, California, on August 12, 1991, and grew up in Riverside and Victorville. His mother, Karen, raised him in difficult circumstances, and he has spoken publicly about growing up very poor in a fractured and dysfunctional family on both sides. Those early experiences shaped his worldview and gave him a deep well of emotion to draw from as a performer.
Stanfield decided to become an actor when he was fourteen years old, after joining his high school drama club and discovering that performing felt natural and meaningful to him. He later attended the John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center in Los Angeles, where he was signed by an agency and began auditioning for commercials. These early steps into the entertainment industry gave him his first taste of professional work and helped him set his sights on a long-term acting career.
Path to Acting
Stanfield’s first acting role came in the short film Short Term 12, a thesis project by filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton at San Diego State University. The short won the Jury Award for U.S. Short Filmmaking at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, giving Stanfield an early brush with critical success. A year later, he appeared in another short film, Gimme Grace (2010), while continuing to take classes and keep his dreams of acting alive.
During this period, Stanfield worked a number of different jobs to support himself, including roofing, gardening, and positions at AT&T and a legal marijuana dispensary. When Cretton contacted him to return for a feature-length adaptation of Short Term 12, the opportunity became his first feature film role. During production, Stanfield practiced method acting, distancing himself from the rest of the cast the way his character would have, and he was the only actor to appear in both the short and feature versions of the story. The feature won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2013 South by Southwest film festival, and Stanfield earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.
LaKeith Stanfield Career
Early Career (2014–2016)
Following the success of Short Term 12, Stanfield moved quickly into larger Hollywood productions. In 2014, he co-starred in The Purge: Anarchy and appeared in Ava DuVernay’s historical drama Selma, playing civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson. He also took on smaller projects, including the 2015 films Memoria and Miles Ahead, the fantasy horror thriller King Ripple, and a memorable turn as rapper Snoop Dogg in the biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015).
Stanfield also expanded into television during this period, starring in the acclaimed FX series Atlanta (2016–2022), a role that earned him a Black Reel Award for Television. He appeared in the music video for the Run the Jewels song Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) and later starred in the music video for Cold Little Heart by English singer Michael Kiwanuka. These varied projects helped him build a reputation as a versatile and unpredictable performer willing to take creative risks.
Breakthrough (2017–2021)
In 2017, Stanfield delivered one of his most talked-about performances as the young and unsettling L in Adam Wingard’s Netflix adaptation of the Japanese fantasy-thriller manga series Death Note. That same year, he appeared in Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed horror film Get Out, a cultural phenomenon that pushed him further into the spotlight and showcased his gift for playing characters whose charm hides something darker.
In 2018, Stanfield starred as Cassius “Cash” Green in the dark comedy film Sorry to Bother You, a role that earned him some of the strongest reviews of his career. He followed that with starring roles in Uncut Gems (2019), the Netflix romantic comedy Someone Great (2019), and the mystery film Knives Out (2019), where he played Lieutenant Elliot. He then starred in The Photograph (2020) and The Harder They Fall (2021) before landing what became his most defining role: FBI informant William O’Neal in Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). That portrayal was critically acclaimed and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Notable Works and Milestones
Across this period, Stanfield built a filmography defined by range and risk, from horror and dark comedy to historical drama and high-stakes thrillers. His Academy Award nomination for Judas and the Black Messiah marked a defining milestone and cemented his standing as one of the most respected actors of his generation. He has continued to expand his reach with projects including Crown Heights (2017), Haunted Mansion (2023), The Book of Clarence (2023), and the horror series The Changeling (2023).
LaKeith Stanfield Award Nominations
LaKeith Stanfield has earned major award recognition across film and television throughout his career. He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his breakthrough role in Short Term 12 (2013). In 2021, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of FBI informant William O’Neal in Judas and the Black Messiah, becoming one of the few performers of his generation to earn that distinction.
LaKeith Stanfield Awards Won
Stanfield won a Black Reel Award for Television for his work on the FX series Atlanta, a recognition that highlighted his ability to deliver memorable performances on screen. Beyond that honor, his film work has continued to draw critical acclaim, even when individual trophies have not followed.
LaKeith Stanfield Family
Stanfield was raised by his mother, Karen, in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Victorville, California. He has spoken openly about growing up very poor in a fractured and dysfunctional family, experiences that shaped both his personal outlook and his artistic sensibility.
Personal Life
Stanfield lives in Los Angeles, California. He has a daughter born in 2017 with actress Xosha Roquemore, and a second daughter born in 2022 with artist Tylor Hurd. In December 2022, Stanfield and model Kasmere Trice announced their engagement, and by July 2023, the couple had privately married and welcomed their first child together. Outside of acting, he performs music under the stage name Htiekal, his first name spelled backwards, and is a member of the band Moors with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder. He signed with Def Jam in 2025 and has been working on his debut album, titled Self Control.
