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Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis

9 movies on Netflix

Biography

Nelsan Ellis was an American actor who won praise for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood. Born in Harvey, Illinois, and raised in Bessemer, Alabama, he studied at the Juilliard School, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2004. He began his career in the early 2000s with a short film role and starred in the television film Warm Springs (2005). His breakout came as Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood, which ran from 2008 to 2014 and won him a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy and the 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. His film work included The Express (2008), The Soloist (2009), Secretariat (2010), The Butler (2013), and Get on Up (2014). From 2016 to 2017 he starred as Shinwell Johnson in Elementary. His final role was in True to the Game, released posthumously.

39years old at death

  • Born Harvey
  • Died New York City
  • Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21

Movie Career

Films
9
Career span
12 years2005 to 2017

Genres

First and latest

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  1. Early training

    Ellis was accepted into the Juilliard School in 2000 at age 22 and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree there in 2004, befriending future True Blood colleague Rutina Wesley.

  2. A change of course

    At 17, Ellis enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After his service, he went on to study at Illinois State University.

Nelsan Ellis movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. Get on Up2014 Biography, Drama, Musicas Bobby Byrd

    IMDb rating 6.927K votes

  2. The Soloist2009 Biography, Drama, Musicas David Carter

    IMDb rating 6.757K votes

  3. The Stanford Prison Experiment2015as Jesse Fletcher

    IMDb rating 6.848K votes

  4. The Express2008as Will Davis, Jr.

    IMDb rating 7.224K votes

  5. Secretariat2010as Eddie Sweat

    IMDb rating 7.233K votes

  6. The Reluctant Fundamentalist2013as Wainwright

    IMDb rating 6.815K votes

  7. Little Boxes2017as Mack

    IMDb rating 5.92.3K votes

  8. Warm Springs2005as Roy Collier

    IMDb rating 7.43.6K votes

Most often with

Three actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Octavia Spencer, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Octavia SpencerAunjanue Ellis, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Aunjanue EllisJustin Martin, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Justin Martin

Films together

  • Octavia Spencer2 films together, 2009 to 2014
    Octavia Spencer's page
    • Get on Up2014IMDb rating 6.9Ellis as Bobby ByrdSpencer as Aunt Honey
    • The Soloist2009IMDb rating 6.7Ellis as David CarterSpencer as Troubled Woman
  • Aunjanue Ellis2 films together, 2008 to 2014
    Aunjanue Ellis's page
    • Get on Up2014IMDb rating 6.9Ellis as Bobby ByrdEllis as Vicki Anderson
    • The Express2008IMDb rating 7.2Ellis as Will Davis, Jr.Ellis as Marie Davis
  • Justin Martin2 films together, 2008 to 2009
    Justin Martin's page
    • The Soloist2009IMDb rating 6.7Ellis as David CarterMartin as Young Nathaniel
    • The Express2008IMDb rating 7.2Ellis as Will Davis, Jr.Martin as Young Ernie

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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