LaKeith Stanfield has had a busy year — from projects like Teyana Taylor’s short film Escape Room to Play Dirty and Die, My Love — but his latest role in Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman offered something different: stillness, sincerity, and soul.
In Roofman, Stanfield plays Steve, a tough-love friend and former army buddy to Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), a man whose life takes a wild turn after a string of rooftop robberies and an even more unbelievable escape. The true-story-inspired drama explores loyalty, redemption, and what it means to find humanity in imperfection — themes that fit right into Stanfield’s emotionally charged filmography.
When we sat down with LaKeith, he spoke about why Roofman felt like the right project at the right time, working with Cianfrance and Tatum, and why he’s drawn to stories that reflect the complexity of being human.
“I read the script and thought, this is just a sweet story,” he told Blex Media. “It wasn’t surrounded by fluff — it was raw. And I knew Derek would approach it in a way that would bring real growth as an artist.”
Check out our full conversation below, where LaKeith opens up about storytelling, survival, and finding purpose in the chaos.