Nelsan Ellis

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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.
DiedJuly 8, 2017(2017-07-08) (aged 39)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathComplications from heart failure
EducationIllinois State University
Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright
Years active2002–2017
Children1

Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017)[1] was an American film and television actor and playwright.

He was well known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood, which he played from 2008 until the series' completion in 2014, and for starring as Bobby Byrd in the 2014 James Brown biopic Get on Up.

Early life

Ellis was born in Harvey, Illinois,[2] near Chicago. When Ellis and his siblings were younger, their mother, a single parent after her divorce from her husband, broke down over the death of her brother. Ellis and his siblings became wards of the state as a result. They were then raised in Bessemer, Alabama, by their grandmother. In Alabama, Ellis attended Jess Lanier High School for a year, then transferred to McAdory High School.[3] He moved back to Illinois at age 15, where he lived with his maternal aunt, and in 1997 he graduated from Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois.[4][citation needed]

He joined the United States Marines at the age of 17, but quit not long afterwards.[5] Following this, Ellis attended Illinois State University.[6]

In 2000, at the age of 22, he was accepted for enrollment at Juilliard,[5] where he befriended True Blood colleague Rutina Wesley.[7] Ellis later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 2004.[8]

Career

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 2007, Ellis was cast as Lafayette Reynolds in the pilot for True Blood, as a short order cook at Merlotte's, a drug dealer, a member of Jason Stackhouse's road crew, and Tara Thornton's cousin. The pilot was shot in the early summer of 2007 and was officially ordered to series in August.[9] Production on the series began later that fall.[10]

In casting, Alan Ball had concerns that the character's homosexuality would be a dominating trait, "because you don't want to bring in someone who's going to play that in a phony way".[11] Nelsan Ellis says that it took him a few episodes to find the character.[12] Ellis says that he based many of Lafayette's mannerisms on his mother and his sister,[11] and that the costuming also helped him to get into character. He told The Philadelphia Inquirer:

I have more makeup on than any of the females in the cast. Once they get me with the fake eyelashes and the eye makeup, I listen to some Rihanna and I'm there.

The series premiered on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes.[13][14] In 2008, Ellis received a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for best supporting actor in a television series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds.[15] In 2009, he was nominated for a Scream Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for True Blood.[16]

In 2012, Ellis was cast as Martin Luther King, Jr. in a supporting performance in Lee Daniels' The Butler.[17][18] The Butler received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 71% rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 171 reviews.[19]

On October 21, 2013, Ellis joined the cast of Get on Up, a biographical drama film about the life of singer James Brown. He portrayed Bobby Byrd, Brown's long-time friend.[20] Get on Up was met with positive reviews from critics. In 2014, the film had a rating of 80% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[21]

Death

Ellis died at the age of 39 on July 8, 2017, in Woodhull Medical Center, New York, after complications from heart failure.[22][23] His family released a statement on July 10 saying that Ellis had been trying to quit drinking alcohol in the days before his death, and that alcohol withdrawal syndrome led to his heart failure.[24][25][26]

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Lost Hoffa Short film
2005 Trespass Donny Short film
2008 The Express Will Davis, Jr.
2009 The Soloist David Carter
2009 Talent Titus
2010 Secretariat Eddie Sweat
2011 The Help Henry the Waiter
2012 The Reluctant Fundamentalist Wainwright
2013 Page 36 Writer and Director Short film
2013 The Butler Martin Luther King, Jr.
2014 Get On Up Bobby Byrd
2015 The Stanford Prison Experiment Jesse Fletcher
2016 Little Boxes Mack Burns
2017 True to the Game Tyrik Completed; posthumous release

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Warm Springs Roy Collier Television film
2005–2006 The Inside Carter Howard 12 episodes
2007 Veronica Mars Apollo Bukenya Episode: "I Know What You'll Do Next Summer"
2007 Without a Trace Deng Nimieri Episode: "Lost Boy"
2008–2014 True Blood Lafayette Reynolds Regular; 80 episodes
Won Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Won Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series
Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Won Ewwy Award for best supporting actor in a Drama series
Won NewNowNext Award for Brink of Fame: Actor
Nominated for a Scream Award for best supporting actor
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself, Guest Judge Episode: "Conjoined Queens"
2016–2017 Elementary Shinwell Johnson Main character; 11 episodes

References

  1. ^ "Nelsan Ellis". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  2. ^ Herrmann, Andrew (November 22, 2008). "'True Blood' actor Nelsan Ellis credits Thornridge teachers with on- and off-screen success". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2009. Ellis, now 30
  3. ^ Sharp, Dave (August 9, 2009). "'True Blood's' Lafayette a glamorously shady character". The Birmingham News. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  4. ^ Castro, Danilo (July 8, 2017). "Nelsan Ellis Cause of Death: How Did the 'True Blood' Actor Die?". Heavy.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Gopala, Nisha (July 7, 2011). "Nelsan Ellis on True Blood's Season of the Witches, Lafayette's Mohawk, and Dodging the Marines". Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  6. ^ "National Tournament Results – National Forensic Association". sites.google.com.
  7. ^ "Alumni News". The Juilliard School. May 2008. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  8. ^ "Juilliard School Newsletter". September 6, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2012.[dead link]
  9. ^ Schneider, Michael (August 9, 2007). "HBO rolls with Ball's 'True Blood'". Daily Variety. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
  10. ^ Mitovitch, Matt Webb (August 10, 2007). "True Blood Vampire Saga Tests Positive at HBO". TV Guide. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Hiltbrand, David. "Actor brings extended life to 'True Blood' character". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  12. ^ Rhett, Starrene. "Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette) Talks 'True Blood,' Gay Marriage, Tyler Perry". Vibe Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  13. ^ "HBO Renews True Blood for Seventh Season". Daily Dead. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  14. ^ The Screen Spy Team (September 3, 2013). "True Blood to End its Run in 2014". Screen Spy.
  15. ^ a b "2008 13th Annual SATELLITE Awards Nominees". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Scream 2009 Best Supporting Actor". Retrieved on September 1, 2009.
  17. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (May 7, 2013). "'The Butler' Trailer: Oprah Winfrey Plays 'Proud' Wife to Forest Whitaker (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  18. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (May 8, 2013). "'The Butler': The new trailer showcases Oscar-winning actors tackling history – VIDEO". PopWatch (column). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  19. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. August 16, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  20. ^ Gallagher, Brian (October 21, 2013). "Nelsan Ellis Joins the James Brown Biopic Get on Up". movieweb.com. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  21. ^ "Get on Up (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  22. ^ Parker, Ryan (July 8, 2017). "'True Blood' Star Nelsan Ellis Dies at 39". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  23. ^ "True Blood star Nelsan Ellis dies aged 39". BBC. July 8, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Parker, Ryan (July 10, 2017). "Nelsan Ellis' Family Shares Circumstances of 'True Blood' Actor's Death". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  25. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (July 10, 2017). "Nelsan Ellis struggled with addiction before death". CNN. Retrieved July 10, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  26. ^ Kelley, Seth (July 10, 2017). "Nelsan Ellis' Family Shares Details About 'True Blood' Star's Cause of Death". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  27. ^ Riley, Jenelle. "Interview: Sweat and Tears, Too". Backstage. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  28. ^ "NewNowNext Awards: Who Won?". Retrieved on May 23, 2009.
  29. ^ "Nelsan Ellis". TV Fanatic. Retrieved July 21, 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nelsan_Ellis&oldid=799014737"