“I think I found a really good rhythm for my career, my marriage, and my family. I’ve been working so hard to find this, and now I’m a lot more comfortable in it.”
Photo-Illustration: Joe McKendry; Photo: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images
The Maria Bamford Questionnaire is a series of 25 questions designed by the beloved comedian to unearth surprising truths about its respondents. In this edition, you’ll learn about LaKeith Stanfield, who stars in Boots Riley’s new film, I Love Boosters.
My wife likes to snack a lot, so I bought this charcuterie book that teaches you how to make various dishes. It has pictures and it’s really cool. So I like to curate those. I put cheeses and different little things in it. She doesn’t really eat that much meat, so I switch it up with tuna, nuts, and berries. She really likes berries. She eats like a hamster, which is … the noise can be a lot. So sometimes I’ll put on my headphones in bed. But when she’s snacking, then it makes me want to snack.
I really like pickles, but I like textures as well. So if I’m going to do a pickle, then I have to have a chip of some sort and a dip. And I can either do sweet or savory. I cannot do swavery or saeet; it has to be one or the other. Otherwise, it just does something in my brain that is not nice.
It would be a religion that freed people’s minds to be able to ask questions, and also taught everyone how to do self health care so we could all just heal ourselves and didn’t have to rely on corruption — like download the information automatically to yourself for how to take care of yourself.
It would be a substitute for alcohol, and people would think that they are drinking alcohol, but it isn’t, so no one gets drunk and no one destroys their body. I wouldn’t want to trick people, but I would want to be the face of some substance that was a healthy alternative that was just as fun for people and just as social, and no one ever had to drink again because of my product. I think that would be amazing.
I’ve had recurring nightmares that I’ve been incarcerated for something. I don’t know where that comes from, but I think the idea of not being able to be free and move and think with freedom is something that has always bothered me.
Well, I think I found a really good rhythm for my career, my marriage, and my family. I’ve been working so hard to find this, and now I’m a lot more comfortable in it. I’m feeling like I’m treading water and balancing things in my life now in a better way than I ever have. It’s been arduous work, and I imagine the work will continue. But it’s a labor of love, because if I’m able to find balance, I’m able to show up for the people I love in a way that’s helpful for them, and I won’t be overly tired, exasperated, antsy, or testy.
It was a page from the book Fatherland, by Robert Harris, which explores what the world could be like if Hitler had won the war and was in power. It’s crazy, because in reading this book, I see a lot of things that make me feel like we could do much better now than what we’re doing in the world. It just reminds me sometimes how close we are to a dystopian world if we don’t collectively work together to make change.
A Leica. Well, technically it was my Leica, but I had to send it in to get repaired. That process was such a nightmare, and it had been there for so long that they might as well have re-owned it by that point. I love cameras, so I just couldn’t wait and was too antsy and got it back. So it was used, but it was used by me, so I don’t know if that counts.
Actually, that’s not even answering the question. What is the thing that I got that was used? Oh, I know: There is this really cool button-up shirt that I got thrifting, and I still haven’t washed it because I really like it a lot. It’s basically just a vacation shirt, but it’s really cute, and it has a lot of lions and eagles and birds and things. I haven’t worn it again, but I don’t want to wear it. I don’t want to wash it. I just want it to be because it’s so great. I love that shirt.
The president. Do I need to say more?
My high-school locker room.
I believe that my beautiful mother would still allow me to come home if I wanted to. She has such a huge heart, and sometimes it’s so big that I want to protect it from everything. I truly believe if I was really down on my luck, she would open up her space to me. She’s always been a giver and a supporter, and ever since I started to pursue acting, she always believed in me. She was like, “You’re going to be a star.” I would be like, “Don’t say that! I hate when you say that.” She was like, “I’m just saying; it’s the truth.”
When I was able to go to my first red carpet, I told her, “Look, I’m a star now.” She was like, “I told you. I knew this was going to happen.” Then when I got nominated for an Oscar, I called her, and I was crying. I was just really happy, and I couldn’t really speak. I was too busy crying, and she was like, “I told you you’re a star.” And I was like, “You’re a star,” and we got into a star-off, and I think she won.
I would love to have been on Breaking Bad. I love that show. I probably just would’ve wanted to play the drug. No, I’m kidding. Even if I was just an extra on that show, I would’ve been happy, because you’re able to be a part of this world that I think was just so intricate and interesting.
I also like Bloodline a lot because it dealt with family. I don’t know where I would’ve fit because I’m Black, but who knows? Maybe I could have been the Black cousin or friend or something like that.
Another show that I maybe would’ve liked to have appeared on is The Wire. I just thought that was a really cool show for that time. We need more nuanced, very specific shows about specific places. That’s always beautiful to explore, because in this specificity, you see so much collectiveness in it.
I think that I would maybe like to quit overthinking, and I think one way to go about that is to breathe more and focus on the things that are right in front of me that I can control that are tangible, rather than always imagining outcomes and thinking about things I can’t control. I think it’s a big source of unhappiness and maybe irritation. So if I could reduce the amount of overthinking I do, that could be great.
I think back to the ancient times; we had a lot of polymaths, or at least that’s what is reported. I would want to be in the mind of one of them. Because even if they were able to overthink, they would connect the synapses and neurons in such a way where it would offset the amount of overthinking they’re doing. They know how to compartmentalize it because they’re just that smart. Then again, that might be a nightmare. But I’ll stick with it.
Sometimes it’s difficult to balance whether or not you should engage in work rather than be present, and there was a time where I was like, I need to work, and that made me miss out on something in my personal life. Maybe, if I could go back, I would’ve taken that personal thing instead of indulging in the professional thing. Because, yeah, work matters, but you just don’t ever get moments back, and sometimes it’s worth it to just be present a little bit more.
I don’t really feel jealousy very often, but I marvel at my brother’s natural intelligence. I also think it’s a double-edged sword, because you have access to a lot of knowledge, which is great, but sometimes too much knowledge can be heavy. So sometimes I feel bad for him. He’s so smart, and sometimes I wish I was that smart. I think I’m happy with where things are at, but I want him to be a bit happier, so I pray for him to get a little dumber.
Let’s see. Gold, green, and half-shaven. Does that count? I think that’s about it. No — purple for Halloween when I was the Joker. I’m the Joker every year. I just love the Joker. I think he represents this archetype of chaos and how chaos can be beautiful. He’s also the perfect opposite to order, which Batman sort of represents. I think you need both, and I just find the Joker to be interesting in the way that he processes chaos and also how he sort of laughs at the absurdity of life.
I really like Japan. It’s a very neat place. I’ve always enjoyed it when I’ve been there. I like the culture of balance. I find it to be very respectful, and who can bow the lowest is a cool game. I think respecting each other first is always beautiful. Even now, today, sometimes I’ll bow to people, and they think I’m weird, but I think it’s pretty cool.
I learned that integrity stands the test of time, and if you stick to your integrity, time will tell the story. You might think you’re cool in the moment for being a bully or for making someone feel small, but in time, you always find that that just doesn’t last. Bullies come and go, but the truth is constant.
I don’t know if I don’t like anyone now, but maybe there were times in my life where I didn’t like people. I think it just makes it stuffy for you to feel negatively about individuals or allow people to take you out of your element. I’m trying to make room for love, man. I’m trying to make room for comradery and communion. If I wanted to tap on that door, I could be inspired to feel those feelings, but I don’t hold on to things like that. I just don’t find it very useful to walk around disliking people, rather than try to find in myself what I’m in conflict with and try to address that.
It’s pretty bad, but I had just a couple of protein bars. I jumped right into interviews today, and there’s a lot going on. But that’s not my usual. Usually, I’m with my wife — I love her, I miss her — and she will make me breakfast. I don’t have her right now, so I got protein bars. She’s not going to be happy that that’s what I’m eating.
I had been walking around the house, and my son did something that I thought was very cute: He pretended to be very sad, and it worked on me. I thought he was really sad. I said, “What’s going on? What’s wrong?” He was like, “Just kidding!” I was like, “You better commit to the drama.”
So now, he just keeps running around saying “commit to the drama.” He is the cutest thing in the world, and I’d much rather him say that than anything. It’s the best.
Greed. There’s too much greed in the world, man. It’s not funny. People have to suffer in order for people to be really greedy.
My kids, and kids in general. They’re just precious. Love them. Shout-out to the future.
War. Violence perpetrated on kids.
I think if I’m able to find balance and peace within myself, I don’t need money. That’s really what I’m looking for now. Of course, in order to have that, you’ve got to be able to eat, right? But I just think that’s the most important thing.
I don’t care how much money I have. If I can’t find peace, if I can’t find real genuine connection, none of it matters; I’m just working to be stressed and struggle. So I genuinely believe the investment is in well-being and not money. But these days, you can’t survive without it, and it’s very difficult. I’ll put it this way: The amount of money that it costs to just live, just for baseline survival, is increasing, and that is sad. And I hope that, collectively, we can change that.
I hope there’s such a death that you can get where you just feel so overfilled with love from the people you care about that you just explode into a million pieces. I hope that’s how I end — that I’ve become this big bang of love and I’m just able to create a whole new universe with that.
See All
Related
Stanfield earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2021 for Judas and the Black Messiah.