Ellis

"Kill all sons 'a bitches. That's my 'ficial 'structions."

- Ellis

"He's like a five-year-old. With guns. And a comprehensive grasp of every swear word in the English Language."

- Nick

Ellis is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2. He's a goofy, beer-loving smart guy that likes to work with machines. According to Chet, he is "extremely excited" about everything, like managing to visit a concert and kill a lot of zombies, making him more of an optimist like Louis of Left 4 Dead, but like Francis, Ellis believes himself to be indestructible.

Official Description
Age: 23

Hometown: Savannah, GA

Ellis is a mechanic with a love of life, a firm belief in his own immortality, and the ability to treat any setback as a fun dare to impress his friends. Born and raised in Savannah, Ellis divvies up his time working at the local garage, hanging out with his buddies, and dropping by for Sunday dinners with Mom—why’d anybody want to live anywhere else?

Then the zombies had to go and spoil it. Now Ellis is looking for new things to occupy his time, and finding plenty. It turns out the zombie apocalypse is one big dare, and there’s no shortage of crazy stuff he can try to impress his new buddies.

Relationships with other Survivors
Ellis is naive and optimistic, possibly due to his age and seems to lack comprehension of the seriousness of his current situation, and has a mixed relationship with the other survivors.
 * Coach: Coach and Ellis have a friendly relationship, possibly a father-son relationship, with Coach occasionally calling Ellis "Son" or "Young 'un." Coach is the least annoyed with Ellis. Despite having a large age gap, both have similar interests, both like Jimmy Gibbs Jr., the Midnight Riders and have a fondness for Whispering Oaks amusement park. Their friendliness could stem from both of them being Georgians, although they clearly did not know each other until the infection.
 * Nick: Nick subtly insults Ellis and makes fun of him on several occasions, but this dislike is seemingly one sided, as Ellis is hardly aggressive towards Nick in return but is not beyond simple retaliation. Nick is not beyond complimenting Ellis and even vague attempts to bond with him (Asking if the Midnight Riders are "any good"), Ellis is sad to see Nick die, but Nick is sometimes negative toward Ellis even when he dies.
 * Rochelle: Rochelle is more lenient towards Ellis, referring to him as "Sweetie" whenever Ellis trails off in to one of his long winded stories. Although Rochelle seems to have a more realistic grasp of the situation and sides with Nick, she is neither aggressive or insulting toward Ellis and has patience with him. Ellis is polite toward Rochelle, referring to her as "Miss" throughout the first "Dead Center" scenario. Despite having the shortest age gap (6 years), Rochelle treats Ellis like a child, even like a little brother at times.

Quotes
"See: Ellis/Quotes"

Trivia



 * Ellis is normally the focus of the phrase "Not right in the head" by each of the survivors, including himself.
 * Ellis' recklessness and overestimation of his own abilities is likely a homage to Dawn of the Dead character Roger DeMarco.
 * In the Zombie Survival Guide trailer, Ellis is the only one that is attacked by Special Infected. A Jockey, Charger, Spitter, and a Smoker all try to attack him. This could imply that he is reckless and/or extremely unlucky.
 * Ellis was one of the only Survivors to have a skin, never featured in any game footage but screenshots. It can be seen in a picture above, featuring Ellis with a totally green cap, white shirt and jeans.
 * At 23 years old, Ellis is the youngest character in Left 4 Dead 2, like Zoey in Left 4 Dead. (Rochelle is 29, Nick is 35, Coach is 44).
 * Ellis' "Bull Shifters" shirt can be unlocked via achievements for Xbox 360 avatars for winning 10 games of Versus.
 * Ellis appears to have the biggest amount of lines of all the Survivors ever made(1900 lines, 100 more lines than Coach and Nick have), making the aforementioned speculation most likely be confirmed.
 * Ellis had friends before meeting the Survivors, including Keith. They not only owned the parts store, but were in a band. It's unknown what happened to them. Some of Ellis's friends probably have been evacuated or died from the apocalypse.
 * Ellis has a friend called Keith who seems to suffer often fatal accidents according to Ellis. He also tells a story featuring Keith, confusing it with a real life experience he shared with the other survivors. Keith may not actually be present in most of Ellis' stories
 * Ellis is the only character to hold his pistol with one hand. He also does the same with the Magnum.
 * Not only does he claim that he would take a bullet for Jimmy Gibbs Jr., he also says that "If the laws of nature allowed it, I would bear that man's children."
 * He is a big fan of the Midnight Riders, though not as much as Coach.
 * Like Louis, Ellis mentions plans (usually when something is going wrong) though neither he nor Louis mention exactly what they entail.
 * Ellis' hat and T-shirt can be purchased from the Valve Store.
 * Even during the infection Ellis is excited to be in Whispering Oaks Carnival, especially the Screaming Oak Roller Coaster. When they get Kiddie Land, he would sometime shout "Holeeee shit, guys! KIDDIE LAAAAAAAND!" Coach may reply by saying surviving with Ellis is not unlike babysitting. Nick may also say he's like a "five-year-old with guns... And a comprehensive grasp of every swear word known to man."
 * Ellis has apparently been interested in firearms since a very young age, according to one of his lines when picking an Assault Rifle: "Man, I've wanted this rifle since I was nine."
 * This could be supported by when Ellis sees Whitaker's Gun Shop, he occasionally says "Hey, I know this place! It's the gun shop!
 * There is a meaning behind Ellis' tattoo, answered during the ferry ride in Swamp Fever, was simply to show how 'badass' he was, to which Rochelle seems unimpressed by.
 * Ellis has an extreme dislike to the Jockey, as Coach and Bill do to the Witch. And possibly the Hunter, due to how loudly Ellis screams and how scared he sounds when being pounced.
 * Occasionally he will say he wants some time alone with Jimmy Gibbs Jr. car in which he says a heartfelt goodbye
 * When the other survivors die, Ellis' goodbye to them contrasts from his normal behavior being more serious and sad.