N.Ellis:Gotham-Magazine.com

What went through your head when you got the call to audition for True Blood?
NELSAN ELLIS: Just another call.

How did you perceive the character of Lafayette when you first read the script?
NE: I perceived [him] like a drag queen. But that’s not what they wanted.

What did they want?
NE: They wanted something more real. A drag queen isn’t a mix between man and woman. A drag queen aspires to be a female impersonator or a woman. Lafayette is not that. [True Blood's creator] Alan [Ball] wanted a man who was tough yet feminine and just so happens to wear lipstick and makeup and a head wrap when he wants to. I mean, he was asking a lot.

Who inspired that feminine aura that Lafayette possesses?
NE: My mother. I’ve seen my mother and I know my mother inside and out. I can mimic her. I can be her; because part of her spirit is in me. So in order to make Lafayette real, I literally channeled my mother to make his movements, his speech and his behavior natural and not like ‘Nelsan putting on gay,’ which would just offend the gay community. I channeled my mama.

You have a love interest this season. How do love scenes challenge you as a straight man portraying a gay relationship?
NE: It’s odd. You have to get used to another penis, another man, another hairy dude and all the things that come with another dude that all the chicks complain about. When we kiss and we’re cutting each other from our hair, or man-breath, or man-smell, because I’m a musty dude, I feel sorry for him a lot of the time. [But] if I’m squeamish or complaining you won’t know; that’s how it’s supposed to be. We are a gay couple and we try to make this love real, and I hope we succeeded.

There aren’t many mortals left on the show. Ever wish your character had special powers?
NE: I like being mortal. When you get power, things get less fun because your control is so absolute. When you’re mortal, there are so many more tricks you can play and do to maneuver in this world because you don’t have the power. The survival playtime is, to me, more fun. I don’t want to be a vampire. If I’m a witch, then I would want to blow or possess the power of fire—so I could burn some mugs up.

What is like working with Ball?
NE: He’s genius. I mean, the man does nothing by mistake, it’s all by design. Even when I talk to him about character choices and scenes and plotlines: ‘Maybe we should do this and maybe we should do that,’ and he goes ‘No, this is why this is the way it is.’ And he breaks it down and I go ‘Oh, well no wonder you’re Alan Ball, because you’re so frickin’ smart.’

The plotlines unfold at such an exponential rate. Do you have reservations about where the show is going?
NE: I have reservations on how big it’s getting—the bigness of it. I don’t want to spread too far out because I think the audience’s attention span is a little short and that they fall in love with snapshots. When it gets so large to where the actor in the world can’t keep up, then I’m like, Maybe it is getting too big. But other than that, no, you don’t really question too much what Alan does because obviously something is working.

Did you have any clue that the show would blow up like it did?
NE: No. The second season premiere was madness. That’s when everybody’s lives changed, where you have to move to a different place where no one has access to you. We were just like, Well, I guess I have to change gyms.

Vampire show fans are hardcore, like Trekkie hardcore.
NE: They’re very much like Trekkies. They’re loyal, they’ll dress up like you, they know your birthday and your mama’s name.

Is that flattering, scary or both?
NE: Scary. It’s flattering when a fan is flattering. When they’re coming up telling you your girlfriend’s last name and where she works and who your mama is and where you grew up and all this stuff, then you’re kind of like…. It’s life changing. Where you go changes. What you say changes. Who you let into your circle changes. You’re not even a celebrity, you’re just somebody who’s on a show that’s popular for the moment. All of the sudden you’re like, Jesus, I need to move into a house with bushes.

Working in the oversaturated vampire genre, do you worry about getting typecast?
NE: Not as a black man, no. I would get typed with the character I’m playing, not the genre. Because I’ve done all kinds of movies while I’ve been on the show, and none of them were related to sci-fi. But, I’ve also been offered gay roles out the wazoo.

Who in the business has given you good advice and helped you get where you are today?
NE: I would have to say Robert Downey Jr. first, then John Malkovich, then Jill Right. Also, Jamie Foxx, Cynthia Nixon and Kenneth Branagh. He was the first person I worked with; he taught me set etiquette.