While most actors reveal their tricks of the trade – perhaps posting workout videos, sharing photos from set, dissecting their process in interviews – LaKeith Stanfield makes a conscious decision to conceal his methods. “Imagine you went to a magic show, but before the magician did every trick, he showed you exactly how he did it,” he says. “Then the magic would not do anything for you.” It’s a philosophy that feels almost radical in an industry where people have come to expect intimate, constant access to performers, from their breakfast choices to character breakdowns. Stanfield, at 34, represents something increasingly rare: an artist who insists that not everything should be consumable, that mystery serves a purpose beyond mere intrigue.
