His first major acting role was in 2013 , starring in BET 's series '' The Game '' . In August 2015 , it was announced that Ellis has joined the cast of HBO 's comedy series '' Insecure '' , which premiered in October 2016 . He plays the role of Lawrence Walker , who has a long-term relationship with main character Issa Dee played by Issa Rae . For his work on the show , Ellis received the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award at the 49th NAACP Image Awards . In 2017 , Ellis partnered with leading HIV/AIDS research organization , amfAR , to help eradicate the staggering rates of HIV cases in the black community
49th NAACP Image Awards
49th NAACP Image Awards
Jay Ellis