American actor (1978–2017) Nelsan Ellis was an American actor. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood (2008–2014), for which he won a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy, among other accolades. He also starred as Shinwell Johnson in Elementary from 2016 to 2017, and played a variety of guest roles on television. 373,792 views on July 9, 2017 — Wikipedia's most-read article that day. Also most read: Spider-Man: Homecoming, UFC 213, Penn Jillette, Wayne Rooney. Wiki link