Nelsan Ellis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ellis in 2009 | |
| Born | (1977-11-30)November 30, 1977 Harvey, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 2017(2017-07-08) (aged 39) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2002–2017 |
| Children | 2 |
Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017)[1] was an American actor. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal ofLafayette Reynolds in theHBO television seriesTrue Blood (2008–2014), for which he won aSatellite Award from theInternational Press Academy, among other accolades.[2] He also starred asShinwell Johnson inElementary from 2016 to 2017,[3] and played a variety of guest roles on television.[4]
In addition to his television work, Ellis appeared in several feature films throughout his career. He portrayedEddie Sweat in theDisney sports dramaSecretariat (2010), wasMartin Luther King Jr. inLee Daniels'sThe Butler (2013), and wasBobby Byrd in the 2014James Brown biopicGet on Up. His final acting role was inTrue to the Game, which was released posthumously.[5]
Ellis was born inHarvey, Illinois,[6] nearChicago, the son of Jackie Ellis and Tommie Lee Thompson.[7][8] When Ellis and his siblings were young, their mother, a single parent after her divorce,broke down after the death of her brother. Ellis and his siblings becamewards of the state, and later were raised inBessemer, Alabama, by their maternal grandmother. He was diagnosed withdyslexia in second grade.[9]
In Alabama, Ellis attended Jess Lanier High School for a year and transferred toMcAdory High School.[10] He moved back toIllinois at age 15, where he lived with his maternal aunt. In 1997 he graduated fromThornridge High School inDolton, Illinois.[11]
He joined theUnited States Marine Corps at the age of 17.[12] Following this, Ellis attendedIllinois State University.[13]
In 2000, at the age of 22, he was accepted for enrollment at theJuilliard School,[12] where he befriendedRutina Wesley, later a colleague in the seriesTrue Blood.[14] Ellis earned aBachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 2004.[15]
Ellis began his acting career in the early 2000s, with a role in theshort filmLost. In 2005, he starred in thetelevision filmWarm Springs. From 2005 to 2006, he played the recurring role of Carter Howard in the television seriesThe Inside. He followed this up with guest roles inVeronica Mars andWithout a Trace, both in 2007.
In mid-2007, Ellis was cast asLafayette Reynolds in the pilot forTrue Blood, as a short-order cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill, a drug dealer, a member ofJason Stackhouse's road crew, andTara Thornton's cousin. The pilot was shot in the early summer of 2007 and was officially ordered to series in August.[16] Production on the series began later that fall.[17]
In casting Lafayette Reynolds,Alan Ball had concerns because the character'shomosexuality would be a dominating trait. He said "you don't want to bring in someone who's going to play that in a phony way".[18] Nelsan Ellis said that it took him a few episodes to find the character.[19] Ellis has said that he based many of Lafayette's mannerisms on his mother and his sister, and that the costuming also helped him to get into character.[18] He toldThe 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.
True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes.[20][21] In 2008, Ellis received aSatellite Award from theInternational Press Academy for best supporting actor in a television series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds.[22] In 2009, he was nominated for aScream Award for Best Supporting Actor.[23] In 2011, he won theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance inTrue Blood.[24]
Ellis also performed in several feature films; his early roles includeThe Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008) andThe Soloist (2009). In 2010, he portrayedEddie Sweat in theDisney sports dramaSecretariat.[25]
In 2012, Ellis was cast asMartin Luther King Jr. in a supporting performance inLee Daniels'The Butler.[26][27]The Butler received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 71% rating on thefilm critic aggregate siteRotten Tomatoes, based on 171 reviews.[28]
The following year, Ellis joined the cast ofGet on Up, abiographicaldrama film about the life of singerJames Brown. He portrayedBobby Byrd, Brown's longtime friend.[29]Get on Up was met with positive reviews from critics.[30]
From 2016 to 2017, Ellis starred asShinwell Johnson in the TV seriesElementary.[3] His character dies near theend of Season 5. The first episode to air after Ellis' death,the season 6 premiere, ended with the screen "In Memory of Our Friend Nelsan Ellis". His final acting role was inTrue to the Game, which was released posthumously.[5]
Ellis died at the age of 39 on July 8, 2017, inWoodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.[31][32][33] His family released a statement on July 10, 2017, saying that he had an ongoing struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. He had been reluctant to talk to anyone about his addiction because of his sense of shame. In the days prior to his death, Ellis was attempting to withdraw from alcohol on his own; he was hospitalized due to serious complications fromalcohol withdrawal syndrome, which resulted in his death.[34][35][36] Ellis was survived by his son, Breon Ellis.[37]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Lost | Hoffa | Short film |
| 2005 | Trespass | Donny | Short film |
| 2008 | The Express: The Ernie Davis Story | 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. | |
| 2013 | Gods Behaving Badly | Dionysus | |
| 2014 | Get On Up | Bobby Byrd | |
| 2015 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | Jesse Fletcher | |
| 2016 | Little Boxes | Mack Burns | |
| 2017 | True to the Game | Tyrik | Dedicated in his memory |
| 2018 | Roxanne Roxanne | Mr. Lester | Posthumous release |
| 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 WonSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film WonSatellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series Nominated for aScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series WonEwwy Award for best supporting actor in a Drama series WonNewNowNext Award for Brink of Fame: Actor Nominated for aScream 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 |
Ellis, now 30
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| National | |
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