BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Nelsan Ellis
| Nelsan Ellis | |
|---|---|
Ellis in June 2009
| |
| Born | November 30, 1978 (age 36) Harvey, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Juilliard School (B.F.A. 2004) |
| Occupation | Actor, playwright |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Nelsan Ellis (born November 30, 1978[1]) is an American film and television actor and playwright. He is well known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood, which he played from 2008 until the completion of True Blood in 2014, and most recently for starring as Bobby Byrd in the James Brown biopic, Get On Up.
Early life and education
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 children's father, 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.
He joined the United States Marines at the age of 17, but quit not long afterwards.[4] When Ellis was 21, he was accepted for enrollment at the Juilliard School's[4] Drama Division (Group 33: 2000–2004)[5] where he befriended True Blood-colleague Rutina Wesley[4] (Group 34: 2001–2005).[5] Ellis earned a B.F.A. degree from Juilliard in 2004.[6]
Awards
- While at Juilliard, Ellis wrote a semi-autobiographical play entitled "Ugly", which was performed at the school and later won the Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award. The play centered on his pregnant sister's murder at the hands of her husband.
- 2008 – Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for best supporting actor in a television series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in HBO's True Blood.[7]
- 2009 – NewNowNext Awards "Brink of Fame: Actor" award.[8]
- 2009 – Ewwy Award for "Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for True Blood.
Nominations
- 2009 - Scream Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for True Blood.[9]
- 2011 - NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for True Blood.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Lost | Hoffa | Short film |
| 2005 | Warm Springs | Roy Collier | TV movie |
| Trespass | Trespass | ||
| 2008 | The Express | Will Davis, Jr. | |
| 2009 | The Soloist | David Carter | |
| 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 |
| The Butler | Martin Luther King, Jr. | ||
| 2014 | Get On Up | Bobby Byrd | |
| 2015 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | Filming | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | The Inside | Carter Howard | 13 Episodes |
| 2007 | Veronica Mars | Apollo Bukenya | Episode: "I Know What You'll Do Next Summer" |
| Without a Trace | Deng Nimieri | Episode: "Lost Boy" | |
| 2008–2014 | True Blood | Lafayette Reynolds | Regular
Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated for a Scream Award for best supporting actor
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