caption years_active birth_place birth_date image article_title education name occupation
ellis in june 2009 2002 -- present harvey , illinois , u.s. november 30 , 1978 -lrb- age -rrb- nelsan ellis at true blood premiere party.jpg nelsan ellis
 juilliard school -lrb- b.f.a. 2004 -rrb- nelsan ellis actor , playwright
nelsan ellis

nelsan ellis -lrb- born november 30 , 1978 -rrb- 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 '' .
