The actor Nelsan Ellis, best known for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds on HBO’s series True Blood, has died at the age of 39. Ellis’ manager, Emily Gerson Saines, confirmed the actor’s death on Saturday. The Hollywood Reporter, which was first to report Ellis’s death, quoted her as saying he had died from complications of heart failure.The Illinois-born actor played Lafayette, a gay short order cook, on the HBO drama from 2008 to 2014, and more recently appeared in the CBS detective series Elementary. He was also a playwright and a stage director.Ellis appeared as Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels’ film The Butler and as singer Bobby Byrd in the James Brown biopic Get On Up. He also appeared in The Help, and his fellow cast member Octavia Spencer mourned his death on Instagram. “My heart breaks for his kids and family,” she wrote.(the guardian)…[+]