Melvin Gregg

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.

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

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
Year Title Role Notes
2012 The Fallen Prodigy Thug 1
Pushing Eternity Nate Short
2013 Coldwater Inmate
Cleaver Family Reunion William Cleaver
Can Crazy Lou
Loss of Life Derrick
Benny Picasso Benny Short
2014 The System Hoodie Teen
Alpha House Kyle Video
The Land of Misfits Patty Cake Short
Asteroid vs Earth Sonar Lead Petty Officer TV movie
SuperZero Leon Deleon Short
2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Chad TV movie
West of the 405 Ty TV movie
A House Is Not a Home Alex Williams
Eddie and the Aviator Teen #3 Short
Class Jolley TV movie
2016 The Land Brent
Famous Trae Short
Hogwarts High School Ron Short
2017 Immortals Peck Short
The Fix Young Thug #2
2019 High Flying Bird Erick Scott [23][24]
Same Difference Sebastian
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
Year Title Role Notes
2011-12 Whatever, the Series Derek Recurring cast
2012 The Beauty Inside Alex #30 TV mini series
2013 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Basketball Player Episode: "Game Night 1"
2014-18 King Bachelor's Pad Astronaut Recurring cast
2015 Sexless Jamal Recurring cast: season 1
Class Jolley Main cast
1 Minute Horror Reshawn Episode: "The VISITors"
2015-16 Sadie and Emmie Coach/Alex Episode: "Slapshot/Haunting in a Store" & "Strangers"
2016-17 Freakish LaShawn Devereux Main cast [25][26]
2017 Caught the Series Latin Gang Member Recurring cast
2018 Love Daily Colby Biskin Episode: "Still Life"
UnREAL Zach Taylor Recurring cast: season 1
American Vandal DeMarcus Tillman Recurring cast: season 2 [27][28][29]
2019-21 Snowfall Drew 'Manboy' Miller Recurring cast: season 3-4
2020 #BlackAF Cousin Harold Episode: "yo, between you and me... this is because of slavery"[30]
2020 Dave Raheem Episode: "Jail"
2021 Nine Perfect Strangers Ben Chandler Main cast
2022 Zaya Detective Tucker Episode: "Trust No One"

Awards
Year Award Show Category Result Ref.
2018 Streamy Awards Performance, Acting in a Comedy: God's Son Nominated [31]

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. "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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