Melvin Gregg

Melvin Gregg (born September 22, 1988) is an American actor and model known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in Netflix's mockumentary series American Vandal and Drew 'Manboy' Miller on FX's crime drama Snowfall.

Melvin Gregg
Born (1988-09-22) September 22, 1988
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationActor, Model
Years active2011–present
Partner(s)Bobbie Nelson
Children1

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 was cast as Joe Guy in The United States vs. Billie Holiday.[15][16] The following year, Gregg portrayed the character of Marcus Parrish in the sports drama The Way Back.[17][18] He also earned a series regular role in the Hulu limited series Nine Perfect Strangers and filmed a video examining BET's support of Black culture during the early 2000s alongside Sam Jay.[19][20] 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.[21]

Personal life

In November 2019, he and partner Bobbie Nelson announced they were expecting their first child.[22] They have one son, Marley Amel Gregg born on May 15, 2020[23]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
2012 The Fallen Prodigy Thug 1
2012 Pushing Eternity Nate
2013 Coldwater Inmate
2013 Cleaver Family Reunion William Cleaver
2013 Can Crazy Lou
2013 Loss of Life Derrick
2013 Benny Picasso Benny
2014 The System Hoodie Teen
2014 Alpha House Kyle
2014 The Land of Misfits Patty Cake
2014 Asteroid vs Earth Sonar Lead Petty Officer
2014 SuperZero Leon Deleon
2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Chad
2015 West of the 405 Ty
2015 A House Is Not a Home Alex Williams
2015 Eddie and the Aviator Teen #3
2016 The Land Brent
2016 Famous Trae
2017 Immortals Peck
2017 The Fix Young Thug #2
2019 High Flying Bird Erick Scott[24][25]
2019 Same Difference Sebastian
2020 The Way Back Marcus Parrish
Post-Production The United States vs. Billie Holiday Joe Guy

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011-2012 Whatever, the Series Derek Recurring Role
2012 The Beauty Inside Alex #30 1 episode
2013 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Basketball Player Episode: "Game Night 1"
2015 Sexless Jamal Recurring Role, 4 episodes
2015 Class Jolley Main role
2015 1 Minute Horror Reshawn Episode: "The VISITors "
2015-2016 Sadie and Emmie Alex/Coach Recurring role, 2 episodes
2017 Caught the Series Latin gang member Recurring role, 5 episodes
2017 Dead House Casting Director 1 Episode
2016-2017 Freakish LaShawn Devereux Main Role[26][27]
2018 Love Daily Colby Biskin Episode: "Still Life"
2014-2018 King Bachelor's Pad Astronaut Recurring role, 4 episodes
2018 UnREAL Zach Taylor Recurring role, 7 episodes
2018 American Vandal DeMarcus Tillman Main Role[28][29][30]
2019 Snowfall Drew 'Manboy' Miller Main Role
2020 #BlackAF Cousin Harold Episode: "yo, between you and me... this is because of slavery"[31]
2020 Dave Raheem Episode: "Jail"

Awards
Year Award Show Category Result Ref.
2018 Streamy Awards Performance, Acting in a Comedy: God's Son Nominated [32]

References
  1. Poulter, Amy. "He took his first acting class at ODU. On Friday, his first major movie, starring Ben Affleck, hits theaters". pilotonline.com.
  2. Bonko, Larry. "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. "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. 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. "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. 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.
  16. "OPINION: 10 Emmy-Worthy TV Moments From 2019". BET.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  17. "Melvin Gregg Movies & TV Shows: Where You Know The Way Back Star". ScreenRant. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  18. "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.
  19. Petski, Denise; Petski, Denise (2020-07-01). "Melvin Gregg Joins 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Hulu Limited Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  20. "BET Awards: Culture Can't Be Cancelled 2000-2004". BET.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  21. Rubin, Rebecca (2020-09-09). "'American Vandal' Actor Melvin Gregg Partners With Interactive Storytelling App Whatifi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  22. "Melvin Gregg on Instagram: "Thankful ❤️"". Instagram.
  23. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAbpXbGg-2h/
  24. Holmes, Linda. "The Business Of Sport Takes Center Stage In Soderbergh's 'High Flying Bird'". NPR. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  25. "Up-and-Comer of the Month: 'High Flying Bird' Star Melvin Gregg". Collider. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  26. "WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT HULU'S NEW HORROR SERIES FREAKISH AT NYCC". SyFy Channel. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  27. "Freakish creator teases 'new level of tension' as the teens 'struggle to survive' in season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  28. "How an Egotistic Basketball Star Grounds 'American Vandal' Season 2". New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  29. "'American Vandal': How LeBron James, YouTube, and Literal Experts Led to Season 2's Powerful Ending". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  30. Sepinwall, Alan. "'American Vandal' Season 2 Review: Sweeter, Sadder and Full of Crap". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  31. BROCKINGTON, ARIANA. "Netflix's blackAF Might Hold The Record For Celebrity Cameos In A Single Season". Refinery29. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  32. "8th Annual Winners & Nominees". streamys.org. Streamys. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.