Does 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Have No Lead Character?

The Academy Award nominations rolled in this week, and we are so excited about all the nominees. But one big question came across our desks. See, when you look at the Best Supporting Actor list... there are two surprising names. 

Both Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield are nominated. 

Yes, they turned in tour-de-force performances that carried the film to places of deep emotion and eternal questions... but... one of them had to be the lead, right? 

I mean, they were "Judas" and the "Black Messiah," respectively. They both were titular characters, so why are they nominated under the supporting roles? How is it that neither of them is a leading man here? 

The whole movie is portrayed from Stanfield's character's point of view; surely it should have been him, right? 

We've seen this before, with The Irishman having double supporting roles, and even The Help, but this feels like a movie that clearly had a leading man and one that deserved to be nominated so. 

Some brief research shows that the studio campaigned for Stanfield for the lead, but the voters collectively decided he was supporting. That's certainly surprising! 

Let us know what you think in the comments.