Nelsan Ellis

“I'm not an emotional person; I keep it in, and I wouldn't know how to get it out if it weren't for acting and writing.”

“There are homophobic people in my family. They're deeply religious.”

“I rejected being a lot of things that I grew up in, and yet I didn't. I got all my tactics from where I grew up... I can talk about all the people in those environments more than I can talk about the teachers at Juilliard or anyone else.”

“I'd always dabbled in acting.”

“Acting is the only thing that makes me happy.”

“You have to be a tough gay person in the South.”

“Although I can be a leading man, you wouldn't look at me and go, 'He's a leading man.'”

“I empty myself out and fill myself with the character. I would play a devil worshipper, and I would fill myself up with whatever devil worshippers believe. Then, as myself, I empty that out and become Nelsan.”

“The sci-fi fans in America... they are die-hard. They will follow you to the ends of the Earth. Once they attach themselves to a show and believe in the show and love the characters, they're there forever, and they're unshakeable.”

“I can play a doctor, and I can play a thug.”

“If you want to get married to a man, then get married to a man. If two women want to get married, they should get married. It's not hurting me.”

“I went from unknown to having no anonymity.”

“With 'True Blood,' you don't know what to expect. You don't know how wild it's gonna get.”

“Being different gives the world color.”

“You have to learn to not hate who you have to live with.”

“I think, in this country, anybody can do whatever they want to do as long as it's not hurting anybody else or violating the laws of society.”

“Boot camp was the first time I got a heavy dose of discipline. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“I love working with Alexander Skarsgard. He brings such gravity to a scene.”

“I was quiet. If I really wanted to say something, I would. I just wasn't interested in saying anything.”

“When you act with phenomenal actors, it makes your job much easier because all you have to do is react.”