Melvin Gregg

Last updated
Melvin Gregg
Born
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
  • comedian
Years active2011–present
PartnerBobbie Leigh Nelson
Children2

Melvin Gregg is an American actor, model and comedian known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in Netflix's mockumentary series American Vandal , Erick Scott in Steven Soderbergh's sports drama film High Flying Bird , Drew 'Manboy' Miller on FX's crime drama Snowfall , and Ben Chandler in the Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers .

Contents

Life and career

Gregg was born in Portsmouth, Virginia to parents Constance Gregg and Melvin Vaughan. He has six sisters. [1] After graduating from I.C. Norcom High School, he studied marketing at Old Dominion University for 2 years before changing his career path and moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue acting. [2] [3]

Gregg came to prominence by creating and sharing comedic content in which he starred, wrote, and produced on Vine. He amassed more than 7 million followers in the course of 3 years, becoming one of the top 100 personalities on the platform. [4] [5]

His first credited role was in the web series Whatever, The Series. In 2011 where he earned union eligibility. [4] Following Vine's decline in 2015, Gregg transitioned into film and TV roles. In 2018, he earned roles in the Netflix mockumentary series American Vandal and in the film High Flying Bird . [6] [7] [8] Gregg's performance as DeMarcus Tillman garnered him praise from outlets such as Film School Rejects and a comparison from Live Mint to actor Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . [9] [10] [11] [12] Entertainment Weekly and Vulture have described the role as a breakout one for Gregg. [13] [14]

Gregg joined the cast in the third (2019) season of the FX television series Snowfall in the main role of Drew 'Manboy' Miller, and portrayed the character of Marcus Parrish in the sports drama The Way Back in 2020. [15] [16] He also filmed a video examining BET's support of Black culture during the early 2000s alongside Sam Jay. [17] [18] During 2020 Gregg also announced that he would be creating a movie for the newly launched interactive fiction app Whatifi, entitled This Call Will Be Recorded. Viewers would be able to select choices that would enable them to view one of sixteen different endings. [19] In 2021, he played Joe Guy in The United States vs. Billie Holiday , [20] [21] and had a series regular role in the Hulu limited series Nine Perfect Strangers .

Personal life

Gregg and partner Bobbie Leigh Nelson have one son, Marley Amel Gregg, born on May 15, 2020. [22]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012The Fallen ProdigyThug 1
Pushing EternityNateShort
2013 Coldwater Inmate
Cleaver Family ReunionWilliam Cleaver
CanCrazy Lou
Loss of LifeDerrick
Benny PicassoBennyShort
2014The SystemHoodie Teen
Alpha HouseKyleVideo
The Land of MisfitsPatty CakeShort
Asteroid vs EarthSonar Lead Petty OfficerTV movie
SuperZeroLeon DeleonShort
2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! ChadTV movie
West of the 405TyTV movie
A House Is Not a Home Alex Williams
Eddie and the AviatorTeen #3Short
ClassJolleyTV movie
2016 The Land Brent
FamousTraeShort
Hogwarts High SchoolRonShort
2017ImmortalsPeckShort
The FixYoung Thug #2
2019 High Flying Bird Erick Scott [23] [24]
Same DifferenceSebastian
2020 The Way Back Marcus Parrish
2021 The United States vs. Billie Holiday Joe Guy
Boxing Day Ian Gorgeous
2022 The Blackening King
2023 House Party Larry
2023 Story Ave Skemes

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011-12Whatever, the SeriesDerekRecurring cast
2012 The Beauty Inside Alex #30TV mini series
2013 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Basketball PlayerEpisode: "Game Night 1"
2014-18King Bachelor's PadAstronautRecurring cast
2015SexlessJamalRecurring cast: season 1
ClassJolleyMain cast
1 Minute HorrorReshawnEpisode: "The VISITors"
2015-16Sadie and EmmieCoach/AlexEpisode: "Slapshot/Haunting in a Store" & "Strangers"
2016-17 Freakish LaShawn DevereuxMain cast [25] [26]
2017Caught the SeriesLatin Gang MemberRecurring cast
2018Love DailyColby BiskinEpisode: "Still Life"
UnREAL Zach TaylorRecurring cast: season 1
American Vandal DeMarcus TillmanRecurring cast: season 2 [27] [28] [29]
2019-21 Snowfall Drew 'Manboy' MillerRecurring cast: season 3-4
2020 #BlackAF Cousin HaroldEpisode: "yo, between you and me... this is because of slavery" [30]
2020 Dave RaheemEpisode: "Jail"
2021 Nine Perfect Strangers Ben ChandlerMain cast
2022ZayaDetective TuckerEpisode: "Trust No One"

Awards

YearAward ShowCategoryResultRef.
2018 Streamy Awards Performance, Acting in a Comedy: God's SonNominated [31]

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References

  1. ↑ Poulter, Amy (28 February 2020). "He took his first acting class at ODU. On Friday, his first major movie, starring Ben Affleck, hits theaters". pilotonline.com.
  2. ↑ Bonko, Larry (24 April 2017). "Portsmouth native turning Internet hits into an acting career". pilotonline.com.
  3. ↑ Scott, Sydney (April 15, 2019). "Melvin Gregg Talks Turning 3 Million Instagram Followers Into A Hollywood Success Story". Essence. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  4. 1 2 "Melvin Gregg of "The Way Back" on Being the Star of Digital Entertainment". Da Man .
  5. ↑ "Vine may be all dried up, but its black Viners keep going". NBC News. November 2016. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  6. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2018-03-15). "'American Vandal': Travis Tope & Melvin Gregg To Topline Season 2 Of Netflix Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  7. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-04-02). "Russell Hornsby Joins 'Creed II'; Melvin Gregg Cast In 'High Flying Bird'". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  8. ↑ Spencer, Samuel (2018-09-21). "American Vandal season 2 cast: Who is in the cast of American Vandal?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  9. ↑ Sen, Raja (2018-09-20). "Opinion | A+ for 'American Vandal'". mint. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  10. ↑ "'American Vandal' Season 2 Is a Warm, Uproariously Funny Defense of Youth". Film School Rejects. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  11. ↑ Weldon, Glen (22 September 2018). "How To Defend Season 2 Of 'American Vandal' Against Its Naysayers". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  12. ↑ "American Vandal Season 2 Review (Spoiler Free)". Den of Geek. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  13. ↑ "'American Vandal' season 2 has a big flaw, and a great twist (SPOILER DISCUSSION)". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  14. ↑ Bramesco, Charles (2020-12-11). "Every Netflix Original Movie, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  15. ↑ "Melvin Gregg Movies & TV Shows: Where You Know The Way Back Star". ScreenRant. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  16. ↑ "Review: Ben Affleck triumphs in 'The Way Back' with a role that hits close to home". Los Angeles Times. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  17. ↑ Petski, Denise (2020-07-01). "Melvin Gregg Joins 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Hulu Limited Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  18. ↑ "BET Awards: Culture Can't Be Cancelled 2000-2004". BET.com. 28 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  19. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (2020-09-09). "'American Vandal' Actor Melvin Gregg Partners With Interactive Storytelling App Whatifi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  20. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (2019-10-02). "'The United States Vs. Billie Holiday' Adds 'American Vandal' & 'Snowfall' Actor Melvin Gregg & Miss Lawrence". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  21. ↑ "OPINION: 10 Emmy-Worthy TV Moments From 2019". BET.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  22. ↑ "Melvin Gregg on Instagram: "No Words • Marley Amel Gregg"".
  23. ↑ Holmes, Linda (8 February 2019). "The Business Of Sport Takes Center Stage In Soderbergh's 'High Flying Bird'". NPR. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Up-and-Comer of the Month: 'High Flying Bird' Star Melvin Gregg". Collider. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  25. ↑ "WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT HULU'S NEW HORROR SERIES FREAKISH AT NYCC". SyFy Channel. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  26. ↑ "Freakish creator teases 'new level of tension' as the teens 'struggle to survive' in season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  27. ↑ Harris, Aisha (14 September 2018). "How an Egotistic Basketball Star Grounds 'American Vandal' Season 2". New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "'American Vandal': How LeBron James, YouTube, and Literal Experts Led to Season 2's Powerful Ending". Indiewire. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  29. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (10 September 2018). "'American Vandal' Season 2 Review: Sweeter, Sadder and Full of Crap". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  30. ↑ BROCKINGTON, ARIANA (2 October 2019). "Netflix's blackAF Might Hold The Record For Celebrity Cameos In A Single Season". Refinery29. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  31. ↑ "8th Annual Winners & Nominees". streamys.org. Streamys. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
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