Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis | |
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![]() Ellis in June 2009
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Born | November 30, 1978 (age 46) 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 series' completion in 2014, and most recently for starring as Bobby Byrd in the James Brown biopic, Get On Up.
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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 Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 2004.[6]
Prior to his transfer to Juilliard, Ellis attended Illinois State University, where he was a National Champion in Duo Interpretation, among other successes, at the National Forensic Association national tournament.[7]
Career
In 2007, Ellis was cast as Lafayette Reynolds on the pilot for True Blood, 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.[8] Production on the series began later that fall.[9]
In casting, Alan Ball had concerns that the character's sexuality would be a dominating trait, "because you don't want to bring in someone who's going to play that in a phony way".[10] Nelsan Ellis says that it took him a few episodes to find the character.[11] Ellis says that he based many of Lafayette's mannerisms on his mother and his sister,[10] and that the costuming also helps him get into character.
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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.
— Nelsan Ellis, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The series premiered on September 7, 2008 and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes.[12][13] 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'.[14] In 2009, he was nominated for a Scream Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for True Blood.[15]
In 2012, Ellis was cast as Martin Luther King, Jr. in a supporting performance in Lee Daniels' The Butler.[16][17] The Butler received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 71% rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 171 reviews.[18]
On October 21, 2013, Ellis joined the cast of Get on Up (film), a biographical drama film about the life of singer James Brown. He portrayed Bobby Byrd, Brown's long-time friend.[19] Get on Up was met with positive reviews from critics. The film currently has a rating of 80% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[20]
Awards & Nominations
- 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.[14]
- 2009 – NewNowNext Awards "Brink of Fame: Actor" award.[21]
- 2009 – Ewwy Award for "Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for True Blood.
- 2009 - Scream Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for True Blood.[15]
- 2011 - NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for True Blood.
Filmography
References
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External links
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- ↑ http://www.nationalforensics.org/national-tournament-results#1999
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- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Scream 2009 Best Supporting Actor". Retrieved on September 1, 2009.
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- ↑ "NewNowNext Awards: Who Won?". Retrieved on May 23, 2009.
- Pages with reference errors
- Use mdy dates from April 2012
- Articles with hCards
- 1978 births
- Male actors from Alabama
- Male actors from Illinois
- African-American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- Juilliard School alumni
- Living people
- People from Cook County, Illinois
- People from Harvey, Illinois
- People from Bessemer, Alabama
- 21st-century American male actors
- United States Marine Corps personnel
- Articles with dead external links from November 2013