Nelsan Ellis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nelsan Ellis
Ellis at the True Blood Season Two premiere party at Paramount Studios in June 2009
Born	(1977-11-30)November 30, 1977 Harvey, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 8, 2017(2017-07-08) (aged 39) Brooklyn, New York, New York, U.S.
Education	Illinois State University Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actor, playwright
Years active	2002–2017
Children	2

Nelsan Ellis (born November 30, 1977 – died July 8, 2017) was an American actor and playwright. He was best known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO TV show True Blood (2008–2014). For this role, he won a Satellite Award and other honors.

Ellis also played Shinwell Johnson in the TV series Elementary from 2016 to 2017. He had guest roles in other shows like Veronica Mars and Without a Trace.

In movies, Ellis played Eddie Sweat in the sports drama Secretariat (2010). He was Martin Luther King Jr. in The Butler (2013). He also played Bobby Byrd in the 2014 movie Get on Up, which was about singer James Brown. His last movie was True to the Game, released after he passed away.

Early Life and Education

Ellis was born in Harvey, Illinois, close to Chicago. His parents were Jackie Ellis and Tommie Lee Thompson. After his parents divorced, his mother faced a difficult time. Nelsan and his siblings were cared for by the state for a while. They were later raised by their grandmother in Bessemer, Alabama. He found out he had dyslexia in second grade.

In Alabama, Ellis went to Jess Lanier High School for one year. He then moved to McAdory High School. At age 15, he moved back to Illinois to live with his aunt. He graduated from Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois, in 1997.

He joined the United States Marine Corps when he was 17. However, he left the Marines not long after. After that, Ellis attended Illinois State University.

In 2000, at 22, he was accepted into the Juilliard School. There, he became friends with Rutina Wesley, who later worked with him on True Blood. Ellis earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 2004.

Acting Career Highlights

Ellis started his acting career in the early 2000s. His first role was in a short film called Lost. In 2005, he appeared in the TV movie Warm Springs. From 2005 to 2006, he had a regular role as Carter Howard in the TV show The Inside. He also had guest roles in Veronica Mars and Without a Trace in 2007.

Ellis at the International Comic-Con San Diego with Ryan Kwanten, Deborah Ann Woll, Anna Paquin, Rutina Wesley, and Stephen Moyer to promote True Blood in 2011.

In mid-2007, Ellis was chosen to play Lafayette Reynolds in the pilot episode of True Blood. His character was a cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill. The pilot was filmed in the summer of 2007. The show was officially picked up in August, and production started that fall.

The creator of True Blood, Alan Ball, was careful when casting Lafayette. He wanted someone who could play the character's homosexuality in a real way. Nelsan Ellis said it took him a few episodes to fully understand the character. Ellis shared that he based many of Lafayette's actions on his mother and sister. The costumes also helped him get into character.

True Blood first aired on September 7, 2008. It ended on August 24, 2014, after seven seasons and 80 episodes. In 2008, Ellis won a Satellite Award for best supporting actor in a TV series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds. He was also nominated for a Scream Award in 2009. In 2011, he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on True Blood.

Ellis also acted in several movies. His early film roles include The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008) and The Soloist (2009). In 2010, he played Eddie Sweat in the Disney sports movie Secretariat.

In 2012, Ellis was cast as Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels. Critics generally liked The Butler. It received a 71% rating on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The next year, Ellis joined the cast of Get on Up. This movie was a biographical drama about the life of singer James Brown. Ellis played Bobby Byrd, who was James Brown's longtime friend. Get on Up also received good reviews from critics.

From 2016 to 2017, Ellis starred as Shinwell Johnson in the TV series Elementary. His character passed away near the end of Season 5. The first episode of Season 6, which aired after Ellis's death, ended with a message: "In Memory of Our Friend Nelsan Ellis". His last acting role was in True to the Game, which was released after he died.

Later Life and Passing

Nelsan Ellis passed away at the age of 39 on July 8, 2017. He died in Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He is survived by his son, Breon Ellis.

Awards and Recognitions

• While at Juilliard, Ellis wrote a play called Ugly. It was performed at the school and later won the Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award.
• 2008 – Won a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for best supporting actor in a TV series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in HBO's True Blood.
• 2009 – Won the NewNowNext Awards Brink of Fame: Actor award.
• 2009 – Won an Ewwy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for True Blood.
• 2009 – Nominated for a Scream Award for Best Supporting Actor for True Blood.
• 2011 – Won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for True Blood.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

See also

In Spanish: Nelsan Ellis para niños