True Blood‘s Nelsan Ellis, who died at the age of 39, is being remembered by friends and former co-stars.
Ellis, who played Lafayette Reynolds on the HBO vampire drama and Shinwell Johnson on CBS’ Elementary, died due to complications from heart failure. Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Joe Manganiello, who respectively played Sookie Stackhouse, Bill Compton and Alcide Herveaux on True Blood, took to social media to express their grief over the loss of “a phenomenally talented,” “wonderful person.”
It was an utter privilege to work with the phenomenally talented and deeply kind soul .@OfficialNelsan I'm devastated by his untimely death. pic.twitter.com/If17csduHz
Crushed today by the loss of my friend and castmate Nelsan Ellis. He was a wonderful person, a pioneer, and a one of a kind artist. RIP pic.twitter.com/fvtquhIac7
Jessica Chastain, The Help (in which Ellis co-starred):
We didnt even scratch the surface of seeing what this artist was capable of. My love to the family of this spectacular man. #NelsanEllispic.twitter.com/3DoPQZYS7p
True Blood creator Alan Ball has released a statement, referring to Ellis as a “singular talent.” HBO has also paid its respects, calling Ellis “a long-time member of the HBO family whose groundbreaking portrayal of Lafayette will be remembered fondly.” (Read both statements in full here.)