Who Is Lakeith Stanfield? New Details On The Actor Who Plays Nate Davis In 'Someone Great' On Netflix
He's an award-winning actor and rapper.
instagram He's making headlines for his fashion choices and his nude scenes in the hit Netflix film, "Someone Great." Who is Lakeith Stanfield?
The 27-year-old Stanfield first came into the spotlight when he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his debut role in the film Short Term 12. Since then, he’s delighted audiences with roles ranging the gamut from comedic (Atlanta) to horrific (Get Out).
Let’s look at what we know about this chameleon-like artist.
1. He took the role of Snoop Dogg in the Academy Award-winning film, Straight Outta Compton, after a more famous face turned it down.
2015’s Oscar-winning film Straight Outta Compton was a groundbreaking film in many ways. It was a breeding ground for several new acting talents, including O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube’s son, who played his infamous father), 24 Legacy’s Corey Hawkins (who played Dr. Dre), and Mudbound’s Jason Mitchell (who played the late Eazy E).
But Lakeith Stanfield’s role as Snoop Dogg was a breakthrough for him in another way: it showed off his previously-hidden ability to spit 16. Recently, Stanfield’s decision to play Snoop Dogg proved to be poignant in another way: according to HipHopDX, it was revealed that the late Nipsey Hussle was first offered the role as Snoop Dogg, but turned down the role because he didn’t want it to overshadow his own rap career.
2. He has a child with his longtime girlfriend, The Mindy Project actress Xosha Roquemore.
Unlike many young actors today — who revel in the ability to “play the field” — Lakeith Stanfield is happily spoken for thanks to his longtime relationship with Xosha Roquemore. Roquemore has had a string of successful roles in Hollywood, but she’s most famously known for her role as Tamra Webb on the hit Fox comedy, The Mindy Project.
According to People Magazine, the duo first went public with their romance during the Sundance Film Festival, when they appeared on the red carpet together. There, Xosha revealed her baby bump for the first time. She had previously intimated that she was pregnant on Instagram, when she posted a picture captioned “Hashtag I miss my abs.”
3. He had a memorable role in Get Out.
Jordan Peele’s Academy Award-winning film, Get Out, helped break several actors into the mainstream, including Black Panther and Widows star Daniel Kaluuya. However, Lakeith Stanfield also had a prominent role in the film, too. According to Vanity Fair, Stanfield’s Andrew/Andre character was the first to be mentally enslaved in the film, and according to Peele himself, his character was inspired by the classic Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining (which is, of course, based on the novel by Stephen King). “As he’s walking through a very Halloween-esque white suburb, he goes, ‘Man, I feel like I’m in a hedge maze out here,’ ” he told the outlet.
4. He’s 420 friendly.
As marijuana becomes legalized in more states, it’s become more socially acceptable for celebrities to say that they either support marijuana smoking or have some connection to cannabis culture. But according to The New York Times, Stanfield is not only pro-cannabis, he actually worked on a marijuana farm for a few years before making it big as an actor.
“When Lakeith Stanfield was 20 and working at a marijuana grow house, he concluded that the plants in his care were conscious beings he was exchanging ideas with,” the outlet reports. “That this realization came when he was really high didn’t make it less lasting or less real. Mr. Stanfield loves plants, feels for them, because, he said, “they are a pure life, and they do not talk,” and laments that his busy work schedule prevents him from keeping any at home. “I travel too much,” he said in a recent interview here, “and I don’t want to put plants through that.”
5. He doesn’t want to be famous.
Lakeith Stanfield has made clear that he doesn't want to be "just another Hollywood actor."
While Lakeith Stanfield is getting a lot of attention for his role as the heartbreaker in Someone Great, he doesn’t want to become yet another famous face in Hollywood. In fact, when he sat down with rapper Noname for The Document Journal, he made clear that he didn’t want to play the Hollywood game.
“You’re not in the Hollywood shuffle," he told the outlet. "You ain’t missing sh*t. If you know a garbage can, you know Hollywood. It’s f*cking disgusting out here."
It’s clear that Lakeith Stanfield wants to stay true to his craft, not the Hollywood grind!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.