His first role was in the short film '' Short Term 12 '' ( 2009 ) , filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton 's thesis project at San Diego State University , which won the Jury Award for U.S. Short Filmmaking at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival . A year later , Stanfield appeared in the short film '' Gim me Grace '' ( 2010 ) , before he gave up acting for several years . He went on to work a number of different jobs — roofing , gardening , at AT&T , and at a legal marijuana dispensary — before he was contacted by Cretton to reappear in a feature-length adaptation of '' Short Term 12 '' . It was his first feature film . During the film 's production , Stanfield practiced method acting , distancing himself from the other cast members like his character , Marcus . He was the only actor to appear in both the short and feature versions
2009 Sundance Film Festival
2009 Sundance Film Festival
Lakeith Stanfield