Actor Lakeith Stanfield, who plays one-half of the titular duo opposite Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah, reacted to his first Oscar nomination on Monday by posting a succinct message on Instagram: “I’m confused too but fuck it lmao.”
Both he and Kaluuya were nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category, which left Oscar pundits like The Daily Beast’s Kevin Fallon scratching their heads after Monday morning’s announcement. “Apparently Judas and the Black Messiah had no lead actor?” Fallon wondered.
Stanfield’s FBI informant character Bill O’Neal is arguably the protagonist of the film, which scored six nominations overall including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography, but academy voters decided he belonged in the supporting category with his co-star and presumed frontrunner Kaluuya, who plays Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton.
Read it at Instagram
