Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 â€" July 8, 2017) was an American
actor and playwright. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal
of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood
(2008â€"2014), for which he won a Satellite Award from the
International Press Academy, among other accolades. He also starred as
Shinwell Johnson in Elementary from 2016 to 2017, and played a variety
of guest roles in other television series, including Veronica Mars and
Without a Trace.In addition to his television work, Ellis appeared in
several feature films throughout his career. He portrayed Eddie Sweat
in the Disney sports drama Secretariat (2010), was Martin Luther King
Jr. in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and was Bobby Byrd in the 2014
James Brown biopic Get on Up. His final acting role was in True to the
Game, which was released posthumously.Ellis was born in Harvey,
Illinois, near Chicago, the son of Jackie Ellis and Tommie Lee
Thompson. 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 became wards of the state, and later
were raised in Bessemer, Alabama, by their maternal grandmother. He
was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade.
actor and playwright. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal
of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood
(2008â€"2014), for which he won a Satellite Award from the
International Press Academy, among other accolades. He also starred as
Shinwell Johnson in Elementary from 2016 to 2017, and played a variety
of guest roles in other television series, including Veronica Mars and
Without a Trace.In addition to his television work, Ellis appeared in
several feature films throughout his career. He portrayed Eddie Sweat
in the Disney sports drama Secretariat (2010), was Martin Luther King
Jr. in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and was Bobby Byrd in the 2014
James Brown biopic Get on Up. His final acting role was in True to the
Game, which was released posthumously.Ellis was born in Harvey,
Illinois, near Chicago, the son of Jackie Ellis and Tommie Lee
Thompson. 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 became wards of the state, and later
were raised in Bessemer, Alabama, by their maternal grandmother. He
was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade.
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