Exclusive: Lakeith Stanfield Talks Playing William O’Neal In Judas And The Black Messiah
Coming out this week from Warner Bros. is the upcoming Fred Hampton film called “Judas and the Black Messiah,” starring Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out,” “Widows,” “Black Panther”) as Fred Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield (“Atlanta,” “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”) as William O’Neal. The film is in theaters on February 12th as well as available on HBO Max for 31 days after theatrical release.
The story follows the rise and demise of Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) as seen through the eyes of William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a criminal who cut a deal with the FBI to infiltrate the Panthers. O’Neal helped create rifts within the organization, kept tabs on Hampton and, when the time came, drugged the 21-year old activist on the night of the raid, which ultimately saw officers gun him down.
The film also stars Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Martin Sheen, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Thorne, Amari Cheatom, Caleb Eberhardt, Terayle Hill, and Lil Rel Howery (“Get Out”).
“Judas and the Black Messiah” is directed by Shaka King, who also co-wrote the film with his writing partner, Will Berson. King, who has a long relationship with filmmaker Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther,” “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”), pitched the film to Coogler and Charles D. King (“Just Mercy,” “Fences”), who are producing the film.
For Stanfield, who plays William O’Neal, he gets to reunite with his Get Out co-stars Kaluuya and Howery. Playing a real-life person is nothing new to the California native. He played Jimmie Lee Jackson in Ava DuVernay’s Selma, Snoop Dogg in F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, and Colin Warner in Matt Ruskin’s Crown Heights. In speaking with BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales, Stanfield talks about playing O’Neal and trying to understand his motives to his actions.
