True Blood actor Nelsan Ellis opens up about co-star’s refusal to play gay

Vulture: Did you ever get a chance to talk to or bond with Luke Grimes when he was playing James, before they switched off?
I didn’t, but I’m completely … I mean, I can say I’m not going to make a comment, but I just think that, you’re an actor, you’re an actor on a show that’s True Blood, we’re all sitting there going, “You quit your job because … really?” I’m just… I’m over him. You quit your job because you don’t want to play a gay part? As if it’s … You know what? I’m going to stop talking.

That’s okay. I get what you’re saying. If you’re going to be on True Blood, you have to be open to a lot of experiences.
You have to be open. But more importantly, you make a statement when you do something like that. I did a documentary called Damn Wonderful, about gay suicide, and you make a statement, a big statement, when you go, “I don’t want to play this part because it’s gay.” If you have a child, if you have a son, and he comes out as gay, what are you going to do? If you have a daughter who comes out gay …? You just made a statement, and it has ripple effects. First of all, this show, it’s True Blood, and shit, we get scared when we read scripts! Excuse my language. When scripts come, we’re like, “What are they going to have us do this week?” But when you make a statement that is a judgment … I was kind of like, “Have you met Alan Ball?” I’m supposed to do what my boss tells me to do, as an actor. I can’t approach a character with judgment. I certainly can’t tell my boss, “I can act what I want to act, but not what you tell me to act,” especially on a show where you come in, knowing what it is. I was like, “Okay… I guess?” I just thought that, having just done the documentary, I didn’t like what he did because he made a statement, and sometimes you have to take responsibility.

Author’s Note: While playing any part that one can’t relate to is difficult, it remains the actor’s job to find a way to do it. If an actor quits because of that certain aspect, does it become known that the actor is bad at their job, is the actor doing the show a favor by admitting they can’t do something in a believable way, is the actor somehow bigoted against that unplayable aspect, or is it something completely different? Speculation will fly for actor Luke Grimes, and it’s sure to be a detriment to his career. I don’t know what his intentions were by quitting, and I don’t pretend to know. I just hope he thinks it was worth it.