LaKeith Stanfield has admitted that he was left “confused” by his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Judas And The Black Messiah.

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Stanfield plays FBI informant Bill O’Neal in the film, who is widely viewed as the protagonist. Warner Bros. campaigned for the performer to be nominated for Best Actor across all awards.

But he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor along with his co-star Daniel Kaluuya, who is in a supporting role in the movie.

The move prompted Stanfield to take to Instagram to write in a now deleted post: “I’m confused too but fuck it lmao.”

I ❤️ LaKeith Stanfield, guys. pic.twitter.com/3dQlz47EQx

— Tomris Laffly (@TomiLaffly) March 16, 2021

He later replaced the post with: “First time an actor with a face tattoo was nominated lmaooo.”

Unlike the Golden Globes, where actors are considered only in the categories they have been submitted for, the Academy has the freedom to choose which acting category a performer belongs regardless of their Oscars campaign.

Meanwhile, Stanfield recently revealed he went to therapy to help manage panic attacks he’d experienced while filming Judas And The Black Messiah.

The actor explained he sought therapy after he found playing the role of the bad guy to be mentally and physically taxing.

The actor highlighted a cut scene where he has to poison Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) as an example. “In the scene where I had to poison him, a lot of it didn’t end up making it to the final cut, but we shot [me mixing it in] Kool-Aid, and I had to go through all those emotions.

“With somebody like Daniel, who I just respect as a human and an artist, as Fred Hampton, it felt like I was actually poisoning Chairman Fred Hampton.”

He went on to explain that depicting such a hated figure in history impacted him away from the camera. “So sometimes your body thinks that’s real, everything you’re putting it through. It’s no wonder I’ve been feeling so stressed out and having panic attacks.

“I realised going forward before I step into something like that again, maybe have a therapist. I’ve found this really cool therapist. It’s great and perfect for me right now.”

Earlier this week, along with two Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations, the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Original Screenplay.

Judas And The Black Messiah is out now on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and in US cinemas and on HBO Max.