LaKeith Stanfield's 15 Best Movies And TV Shows

LaKeith Stanfield is one of the most talented actors working in Hollywood right now, with some incredible movies and TV shows to his name. Making his feature film debut with Short Term 12 in 2013, Stanfield has quickly climbed the ranks of fantastic actors, finding himself in films with incredible talent both in front and behind the camera. These include Uncut Gems, Selma, Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Donald Glover's mesmerizing TV series, Atlanta.

LaKeith Stanfield hasn't really slowed down since he broke into the film industry, and he has several exciting projects coming up that are sure to show off the actor's immense talent. Some of these include Play Dirty, a new film by director Shane Black, and Die, My Love, a dark comedy horror movie adaption that will feature Hollywood stars Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence.

15 Haunted Mansion (2023)

LaKeith Stanfield As Ben Matthias

LaKeith Stanfield leading the cast of a Disney summer blockbuster was certainly a big step in his career, even if the movie ended up being one of 2023's biggest bombs. Haunted Mansion is the second attempt to make a movie based on the popular Disney theme park ride, with Stanfield starring as Ben Matthias, a cynical astrophysicist who is recruited by a single mother to help her deal with her new home, which is overrun by spirits.

Despite the box office performance of the movie, Haunted Mansion is a fun family-friendly horror-comedy with a great cast that also includes Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Danny DeVito. However, Stanfield is the one who carries the movie with a funny and charming performance that suits the tone of the film but also gives it some unexpected emotional depth. While the story doesn't quite live up to his performance, he helps to make this an enjoyable time.

14 The Photograph (2020)

LaKeitth Stanfield As Michael Block

The Photograph is a movie that further highlights how LaKeith Stanfield can do great work in any type of project as he gets the chance to play the romantic lead in a love story. Issa Rae stars in The Photograph as Mae, a young woman who discovers letters from her deceased mother that give insights into her life that her daughter never had when she was alive. As she learns about her mother's struggles with romance, Mae embarks on a romance with a journalist, played by Stanfield, writing a story about her mother.

Stanfield and Rae share wonderful chemistry together, with their romance mirroring but also differing from the love story of Mae's mother that we see in flashbacks. It is an emotional and moving examination of relationships both new and old as well as the fear that comes with opening yourself up to someone new.

13 Crown Heights (2017)

LaKeith Stanfield As Colin Warner

Even in smaller projects that might get overlooked, LeKeith Stanfield has been delivering powerful performances. Crown Heights is a movie based on a story from the podcast This American Life. Stanfield stars as Colin Warner, a young man living in New York City who is arrested and found guilty of a murder he did not commit. As Colin maintains his innocence even in the demoralizing and brutal prison world, his best friend seeks to find justice for him on the outside and fights for the day that Colin will be free.

Stanfield gives a powerful and complex performance as a man frustrated by the system that has failed him but unwilling to give up his fight despite the dire circumstances. There are many movies that detail the flawed justice system and prison industrial complex, but Crown Heights makes for a harrowing depiction of these aspects while also telling a moving story of friendship at its center.

12 The Harder They Fall (2021)

LaKeith Stanfield As Cherokee Bill

LaKeith Stanfield stood out in this star-studded Western with a unique twist. The Harder They Fall takes real-life Black figures of the Old West and imagines an adventure in which they all cross paths. Jonathan Majors stars as Nat Love, a gunslinger who is on a mission of revenge against a newly released outlaw named Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). Stanfield plays Cherokee Bill, a gunslinger who is part of Buck's crew.

The movie is an energetic and fun throwback to Western action adventures of the past, while also finding new things to bring to the genre to make it a truly memorable entry.

In a cast that also includes Regina King, Zazie Beetz, and Delroy Lindo, Stanfield makes a great impression as the soft-spoken outlaw who doesn't necessarily take pleasure in killing people, but will certainly not hesitate to do so. The movie is an energetic and fun throwback to Western action adventures of the past, while also finding new things to bring to the genre to make it a truly memorable entry.

11 Straight Outta Compton (2015)

LaKeith Stanfield As Snoop Dogg

Early on in his career, LaKeith Stanfield proved he was undaunted by iconic roles as he played one of rap music's biggest stars. Straight Outta Compton is the true story behind NWA, one of the most influential rap groups of all time that helped to change the genre of music forever. The movie follows the group's famous members, including Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E, as they came together, made legendary tracks that shocked the world, and had an eventual falling out.

Stanfield has a smaller supporting role in the movie as Snoop Dogg, one of Dr. Dre's most famous collaborators and a rapper who went on to have a legendary career of his own. Stanfield is impressive in his brief role, showing the laid-back nature of Snoop. The movie itself is one of the most energetic and riveting musical biopics ever made, with humor, violence, and drama all thrown into one entertaining final result.

10 Dope (2015)

LaKeith Stanfield as Bug

Dope tends to fly under the radar, but it is a fantastic coming-of-age movie that features some knockout performances. Released in 2015 and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Dope is about a group of three "nerdy" friends who find themselves accidentally caught up in the world of drug dealing, causing them to go on a wild adventure of self-discovery. It's a unique film in the coming-of-age genre that deserves more recognition for how great it is.

LaKeith Stanfield doesn't have that big of a role in Dope, playing a character named Bug, who is a local drug dealer that terrorizes main character Malcolm Adekanbi, with his first scene in the movie being him attempting to steal his shoes at school. It's not LaKeith Stanfield's most substantial work, but it's a good performance considering the limited screen time he is given, showing that even early into his career, he had a diverse range.

9 Sorry To Bother You (2018)

LaKeith Stanfield as Cassius Green

Sorry to Bother You is a mind-trip of a movie, tapping into surrealism to tell the story of a young black telemarketer who puts on his "white voice" to be more successful at his job. What makes Sorry to Bother You so great is how it plays with the concept of reality, heightening it to perfect levels while being a biting commentary on capitalism and racism in corporate America.

LaKeith Stanfield is simply mesmerizing in Sorry to Bother You, playing main character Cassius Green. Stanfield is tasked with carrying most of the movie on his back, and he succeeds on every level, bringing a certain energy to his performance that fits right into the surrealist aspects of the film. Green is both vulnerable and manipulative and Stanfield is able to highlight the complexities of the character.

8 Selma (2014)

LaKeith Stanfield as Jimmie Lee Jackson

Powerfully told, Selma chooses to focus on Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights by marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Selma was directed by Ava DuVernay and was nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards. It's an astonishing movie that looks at a monumental historical event with empathy, tenderness, and resolve, and is possibly the greatest film directed by DuVernay.

Playing an important historical figure is never easy, but LaKeith Stanfield gives him so much depth with the limited time he has as Jimmie Lee Jackson.

One of the earliest roles in his career, LaKeith Stanfield plays Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young activist who is eventually shot and killed by an Alabama state trooper following a civil rights protest in Marion, Alabama. His death helped inspire the Selma marches, and Stanfield handles his role as Jimmie Lee Jackson with grace and fortitude. Playing an important historical figure is never easy, but LaKeith Stanfield gives him so much depth with the limited time he has as Jimmie Lee Jackson.

7 Knives Out (2019)

LaKeith Stanfield as Lieutenant Elliot

Rian Johnson's directorial follow-up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi is one of the most pleasant surprises of the past decade, as Knives Out is an incredible movie firmly within the whodunit genre. What makes Knives Out so great is how it simultaneously deconstructs and reveres the genre, crafting a mystery with a fantastic, cozy atmosphere. Johnson's strengths as a writer are on full display in it, and it features a knockout cast of characters.

LaKeith Stanfield fits right into the stacked cast, playing Detective Lieutenant Elliot, who is in charge of investigating the murder of renowned mystery author Harlan Thrombey. Stanfield is great as the character, who is a no-nonsense guy set on solving the mysterious death. He is well-intentioned throughout, which stands out among a group of characters, all who have something to hide.

6 Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)

LaKeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal

In 2021, LaKeith Stanfield returned to a historical drama with his starring role in Judas and the Black Messiah. Telling the story of the FBI informant, Bill O'Neal, who would go on to betray Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in the late-1960s. The movie was incredibly well-received, earning multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay. The film won for Best Original Song.

Stanfield's brilliant performance makes the eventual betrayal all the more hard-hitting.

Judas and the Black Messiah is some of the finest work that LaKeith Stanfield has done so far in his career, playing Bill O'Neal, which ended up earning him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The complexities of Bill O'Neal are on full display in the film and Stanfield's brilliant performance makes the eventual betrayal all the more hard-hitting.

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