by Sean Donovan

Let's celebrate the 25th birthday of rising actor Keith Stanfield, sometimes billed as LaKeith Lee Stanfield. The young actor has shown an impressive versatility and command of the screen in a brief string of memorable appearances. He’s occupied the supporting casts of such attention-grabbing films as Dope and Miles Ahead, acted as a flashpoint for community grief as Jimmie Lee Jackson in Ava DuVernay’s Selma, and even appeared as a young Snoop Dog in Straight Outta Compton. But those of us who have  kept an eye Stanfield as “one to watch” fell in love with his vital supporting work in Destin Daniel Cretton’s 2013 film Short Term 12. 

In our post-Room world, Short Term 12 feels like a more and more essential document, serving for many as the introduction to the true depth of leading lady Brie Larson’s talents before she found Oscar glory two years later...