Melvin Gregg is an American actor, model and comedian known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's mockumentary series ''

American Vandal ''American Vandal'' is an American mockumentary television series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda that premiered on September 15, 2017, on Netflix. The series is a parody of true crime documentaries such as ''Making a Murderer'' and ''Se ...

'', Erick Scott in

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...

’s sports drama film ''

High Flying Bird ''High Flying Bird'' is a 2019 American sports film, sports drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, from a story suggested by André Holland, with the screenplay by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The film stars Holland, Zazie Beetz, Melvin Gregg, Sonj ...

'', Drew 'Manboy' Miller on FX's crime drama ''

Snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

'', and Ben Chandler in the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

miniseries ''

Nine Perfect Strangers ''Nine Perfect Strangers'' is a 2018 novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty. It was published on September 18, 2018 by Macmillan Australia. It is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller. Synopsis Nine people from different walks of life attend a ...

''.

Life and career

Gregg was born in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

to parents Constance Gregg and Melvin Vaughan. He has six sisters. After graduating from

I.C. Norcom High School I. C. Norcom High School is a public high school in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is administered by Portsmouth City Public Schools. The school colors are maroon and grey, and the mascot is the Greyhounds. The school was named after Israel Charles Nor ...

, he studied marketing at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

for 2 years before changing his career path and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 2011 to pursue acting. Gregg came to prominence by creating and sharing comedic content in which he starred, wrote, and produced on

Vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

. He amassed more than 7 million followers in the course of 3 years, becoming one of the top 100 personalities on the platform. His first credited role was in the web series ''Whatever, The Series.'' in 2011 where he earned union eligibility. Following Vine’s decline in 2015, Gregg transitioned into film and TV roles. In 2018 he earned roles in the

mockumentary series ''

'' and in the film ''

''. Gregg's performance as DeMarcus Tillman garnered him praise from outlets such as

Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006. The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...

and a comparison from ''

Live Mint ''Mint'' is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media, a Delhi-based media group which is controlled by the K. K. Birla family that also publishes ''Hindustan Times''. It mostly targets readers who are business executives and ...

'' to actor

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

in ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

''. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' and ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' have described the role as a breakout one for Gregg. Gregg joined the cast in the third (2019) season of the FX television series ''

'' in the main role of Drew 'Manboy' Miller, and portrayed the character of Marcus Parrish in the

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

'' The Way Back'' in 2020. He also filmed a video examining

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's support of Black culture during the early 2000s alongside

Sam Jay Samaria Johnson (born January 13, 1982), better known as Sam Jay, is an American comedian and writer. She is best known as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (2017–present), her Netflix comedy special ''3 in the Morning'' (2020), and as the co ...

. During 2020 Gregg also announced that he would be creating a movie for the newly launched

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

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. In 2021, he played Joe Guy in ''

The United States vs. Billie Holiday ''The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' is a 2021 American biographical film, biographical drama film about singer Billie Holiday, based on the book ''Chasing the Scream, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs'' by Johan ...

'', and had a series regular role in the

limited series ''

''.

Personal life

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

External links

*
Melvin Gregg
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Melvin Gregg
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Melvin People from Portsmouth, Virginia Male actors from Los Angeles 1988 births Models from Virginia Models from Los Angeles Living people African-American actors African-American models 21st-century American actors American Internet celebrities Vine (service) celebrities 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people