Nelsan Ellis, best known for playing Lafayette Reynolds on HBO’s True Blood, has died due to complications from heart failure. He was 39.
is reps confirmed the news today. “We were extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Nelsan Ellis,” HBO said in a statement this afternoon. “Nelsan was a long-time member of the HBO family whose groundbreaking portrayal of Lafayette will be remembered fondly within the overall legacy of True Blood.