LaKeith Stanfield: who is The Changeling actor, who does he play in Apple TV horror series - and other roles

LaKeith Stanfield plays book dealer Apollo in Apple TV series The Changeling, an eight part horror series based on the book by Victor LaValle, and adapted for the screen by Kelly Marcel.

The dark fantasy series is set in an alternate New York, where reality is bent out of shape, and is seen through the eyes of one man desperate to save his family.

The series also stars Clark Backo, Adina Porter, and Jonelle Gunderson, and premiered on the streaming platform today (8 September).

Stanfield has more than 40 acting credits to his name, including a number of major film releases with big stars attached - he has shared a screen with the likes of Idris Elba, Claire Foy, Daniel Kaluuya, Brad Pitt, and Rosario Dawson.

Who is LaKeith Stanfield?

Stanfield, 32, is an American actor from California, who grew up in a poor family. Despite a difficult start, since deciding to pursue a career in acting aged 14, he has found considerable success in the industry.

He is also a musician and a member of the band Moors - he is currently working on a debut solo album and performs under the stage name Htiekal.  

His music has featured on the soundtrack of Short Term 12, Dope, Grandma, Sorry to Bother You, and Come Sunday.

Stanfield has a six year old daughter with The Mindy Project actress Xosha Roquemore, and another child with his 29 year old wife, model Kasmere Trice, whom he married this year.

Who does LaKeith Stanfield play in The Changeling 

Stanfield plays book dealer Apollo in the Apple TV horror series. He begins a relationship with librarian Emma, who seems to be the woman of his dreams.

But when he cuts off a string bracelet that Emma has worn since a backpacking trip in Brazil, he realises that he has made a terrible mistake. It transpires that Emma was given the bracelet by a witch, and told that she would be granted three wishes that will come true only if the bracelet is never cut.

Apollo married and had a child with Emma, but after suffering from serious postpartum depression, she vanishes, and Apollo pursues her through a parallel New York.

What else has LaKeith Stanfield been in?

Stanfield’s feature film debut was in independent drama film Short Term 12, but one of the actor’s earliest mainstream roles was as Snoop Dogg in the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, for which he won the Hamptons International Film Festival award for Breakthrough Performer. 

This was followed by a creepy supporting role in psychological horror film Get Out, and another small part in Brad Pitt vehicle War Machine. Stanfield has taken on more prominent roles in recent years, and was the leading man Cassius Green in comedy drama Sorry to Bother You, played Bill O'Neal in historical drama Judas and the Black Messiah, and Cherokee Bill in Black western The Harder They Fall.

He starred alongside Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito in last month’s Disney remake The Haunted Mansion. Stanfield’s biggest TV project to date is Hulu comedy drama Atlanta, where he played the outlandish Darius.

His upcoming projects include a main role in the upcoming Biblical comedy film The Book of Clarence, also starring Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy, and due to hit cinemas next year, and the lead part in the drama Notes from a Young Black Chef, which is currently in pre-production.