美国国家公共电台 NPR 'True Blood' Star Nelsan Ellis Dies At 39

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The HBO show "True Blood" had a lot of memorable¹ characters - Sookie, Eric, the sheriff, Andy. And then there was Lafayette Reynolds. Lafayette was played by Nelsan Ellis, who died over the weekend. He was 39. His family said in a statement he died from complications following alcohol withdrawal². NPR's Andrew Limbong has this appreciation³.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁴: Lafayette Reynolds was never supposed to be a huge character. In fact he dies pretty early on in the books. But "True Blood" creator Alan Ball told NPR in 2012 that the second he saw Nelsan Ellis in the pilot, he knew he had to keep the character around.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ALAN BALL: Because he's such a special force. And usually I'm not a big fan of actors who improvise⁵ because a lot of them are not very good at it. But he just started channeling Lafayette. And I just sort of felt instinctively⁶, like, OK, let's just stand back. Just point the camera. Just let him go.

LIMBONG: Probably Nelsan Ellis' most memorable scene as the gay short-order cook was early in the run of "True Blood."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TRUE BLOOD")

NELSAN ELLIS: (As Lafayette Reynolds) Excuse me. Who ordered the hamburger with AIDS?

(LAUGHTER)

LIMBONG: That's Ellis as Lafayette confronting a table that was trying to pick on him for being gay. It doesn't go super well for the guys.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TRUE BLOOD")

CALEB MOODY⁷: (As Royce) I'm an American, and I got a say in who makes my food.

ELLIS: (As Lafayette Reynolds) Oh, baby, it's too late for that. [Expletive] Bringing your cows, raising your chickens, even brewing⁸ your beer long before I walked my sexy ass⁹ up in this [expletive].

LIMBONG: Alexander Woo was the writer on "True Blood" who wrote the episode.

ALEXANDER WOO: In the hands and the mouth of Nelsan, he made that piece of dialogue sing.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TRUE BLOOD")

ELLIS: (As Lafayette Reynolds) Bitch, you come in my house, you're going to eat my food the way I [expletive] make it. Do you understand me? Tip your waitress.

LIMBONG: Woo says there were about a hundred people, cast and crew, on set that day, industry folks who see this sort of thing all the time. But that scene was different.

WOO: When the director called cut, everyone stopped and burst into applause. And (laughter) I never experienced that before.

LIMBONG: Nelsan Ellis was born in Illinois in 1977. Alexander Woo says that in real life he was quiet, shy, humble¹⁰. Sometimes that was reflected in his characters. His take on Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels' "The Butler" was more measured.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BUTLER")

ELLIS: (As Martin Luther King Jr.) Young brother, the black domestic defy racial stereotypes¹¹ by being hardworking and trustworthy.

LIMBONG: Same goes for his role in the 2016 indie movie "Little Boxes" as Mack Burns, the dad in an interracial family.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LITTLE BOXES")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) And now he destroyed my property. I think that's a good reason to call the police.

ELLIS: (As Mack Burns) Are you crazy? Is something wrong with you? He's an 11-year-old child. You want to call the police on him? For what?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character) OK.

ELLIS: (As Mack Burns) Are you trying to ruin my son's life?

LIMBONG: But it will be for Lafayette Reynolds, a character so different from Nelsan Ellis' quiet demeanor¹², that he'll be remembered. Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

1 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

6 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

8 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

9 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

10 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

11 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。