28 February 2021
Newsdesk
LaKeith Stanfield had to seek therapy to work through the stress and anxiety of filming Judas and the Black Messiah.
The film stars Stanfield as FBI informant Bill O'Neal, who is tasked with befriending Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, played by Daniel Kaluuya, and ultimately poisoning him so he sleeps through the raid that leads to his death.
The historical movie is based on real-life events, and Stanfield admitted the emotions he displays as his character during the pivotal scenes of betrayal all felt so real to him, he needed to work on his mental health as soon as the shoot wrapped.
"In the scene where I had to poison him, a lot of it didn't end up making it to the final cut, but we shot (me mixing the powder in) Kool-Aid (flavoured drink mix), and I had to go through all those emotions," Stanfield recalled to Level magazine.
"With somebody like Daniel, who I just respect as a human and an artist, as Fred Hampton, it felt like I was actually poisoning Chairman Fred Hampton," he went on.
The pressure of the role made Stanfield rethink the way he approaches his work in future.
"So sometimes your body thinks that's real, everything you're putting it through," he continued, musing: "It's no wonder I've been feeling so stressed out and having panic attacks."
Stanfield has since found a "really cool therapist" to help him process his filmmaking experience, and he plans to continue prioritising his mental wellbeing.
"It's great and perfect for me right now. Hopefully, it continues to be the case," he said, sharing: "It's helped me a lot. After doing press yesterday, I had another session and it was amazing."
The actor added that there were many benefits to undergoing therapy, noting: "It helps you unlock things about yourself. It's not even necessarily about the person that you're doing therapy with, but... (just) perspectives and strategies and tools that you didn't have access to before."