Actor Lakeith Stanfield, who plays half of the titular duet alongside Daniel Kaluuya Judas and the Black Messiah, reacted to her first Oscar nomination on Monday by posting a succinct message on Instagram: “I’m confused too, but fuck me.”
Both he and Kaluuya were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which left Oscar experts like Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast scratching their heads after Monday morning’s announcement. “Apparently Judas and the Black Messiah did he have no main actor? Fallon wondered.
Stanfield’s FBI reporter Bill O’Neal is probably the protagonist of the film, which garnered six overall nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture, but the academy voters decided that he belonged to the secondary category with his co-star and alleged leader. Kaluuya, played by Black Panther party president Fred Hampton.
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