Nelsan Ellis 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 ...
Jess Lanier High School, Columbia College Chicago, Juilliard School, McAdory High School, Thornridge High School
Nationality
United States of America
Siblings
Alice Nellis
Nicknames
Nelson Ellis
Awards
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominations
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Movies
Get on Up, The Help, Secretariat, The Butler, The Stanford Prison Experiment, The Soloist, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Express, Gods Behaving Badly, Warm Springs, Little Boxes, True to the Game
TV Shows
True Blood, The Inside
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Quote
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I support it. I think anybody should - I mean - I have my religious views, but I don't choose to oppress them on anybody. I think in this country, anybody can do whatever they want to do as long as it's not hurting anybody else or violating the laws of society. If you want to get married to a man then get married to a man. If two women want to get married they should get married. It's not hurting me. The beautiful thing about this country is that I can be a Christian and feel free to do so. Or somebody cannot be a Christian and do whatever that entails. Or somebody can be a Christian and still be gay and I support it. Let gay people get married. [Ellis in a "Vibe" Magazine interview, when he was asked about his thoughts about gay marriage.]
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Fact
1
Wrote Play "Ugly" about the devastating effects of domestic abuse, after his sister Alice was shot by her husband in 2002. Nelsan staged the play while a student at Julliard. Received the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Martin E. Segal Award for his efforts.
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Born in Harvey, Illinois. Moved to Bessemer, Alabama at age 6. Moved to Dolton, Illinois at 14 where he attended Thornridge High School.
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Moved from Alabama to New York to attend the prestigious acting program at Juilliard.