Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis (March 31, 1978 – July 8, 2017) was an American actor and playwright. He gained critical acclaim for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood (2008–2014), earning accolades such as the Satellite Award from the International Press Academy. Ellis also appeared as Shinwell Johnson in Elementary (2016–2017) and had guest roles in Veronica Mars and Without a Trace. His film credits include Secretariat (2010), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and Get on Up (2014). Ellis was born in Harvey, Illinois and had a posthumous role in True to the Game.