Lakeith Stanfield On Bringing ‘Humanity’ To William O’neal & Fred Hampton Murder In “Judas & The Black Messiah”

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Lakeith Stanfield On Bringing ‘Humanity’ To William O’Neal & Fred Hampton Murder In “Judas & The Black Messiah”

Warner Bros’ “Judas and the Black Messiah” is a movie that will create an impact on society and have you immersed into the story of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and his untimely death.

Hampton was set up by William O’Neal, who was an FBI informant and infiltrated his way into becoming the Panther’s head of security. The informant had helped the FBI make a floor plan of Hampton’s apartment, including where Hampton slept. O’Neal reportedly drugged Hampton the night of the FBI raid and officers killed him and another man, Mark Clark. O’Neal took his own life in 1990, those close to him believe it was from guilt.

While speaking on his role,  Stanfield revealed that he struggled with self-doubt while portraying O’Neal, but he still tried to bring humanity to his character. He had to take out the “betrayal initially” to portray William and break into his interior.
While speaking on why he thinks William betrayed Hampton, Stanfield said that “he was afraid of losing his freedom during a volatile time.” The government was hands-on with pushing people to infiltrate groups. He even suggests that O’Neal may have even wanted to be apart of the FBI and wanted to impress his superiors.
For more of our interview stay tuned and make sure you watch in theatres and on streaming on February 12th!

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