We were lucky to catch up with M.v. Oliphant recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi M.V., thanks for joining us today. Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?
Yes I currently have an talent agent who helps me secure opportunities and compensation for my creative work. I connected with her 11 years ago through a referral by a fellow actor who was already signed with her. I believe my agent decided to take chance on me because of my emotion and expression range I displayed on a self-taped monologue she assigned me to record for her, as well as my look and list of acting workshops/trainings I had listed on my resume.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I consider myself a triple-threat entertainer (actor/vocalist/voiceover artist) born in an eastern Georgia township of Wrens, GA and raised in Augusta. Im a graduate of Morehouse College and have appeared in a number television and stage productions over a span of more than 25 years. Among his career highlights include:
*BMF on Starz
*Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse
*TV One’s Fatal Attraction
*Two national television commercials on ESPN: one for the 2015 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl with NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt JR., and for Dodge RAM Truck with Marty Smith 2021 through 2022.
* Music video by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole “A Lot” in 2018
*National television commercials for Bud Light, Krystals, Auntie Annie’s Pretzels, DraftKings/NHL, Church’s Chicken and NBA G League.
I began acting as a hobby while working in corporate America. My first public acting performance was a self-written and produced one-man monologue entitled “The Choice is Yours,” performed at my family home church, Broadway Baptist Church in South Augusta. A member sitting in the audience who watched my performance became my career mentor, the late actress/writer Maxine Barnett-Nesbitt (whose film credits include In the Heat of the Night, Murder in Mississippi & Skeleton Key). She immediately offered me a lead role in her stage production of the famed murder mystery play “A House Without Windows” directed by the late J.C. Taylor (former drama instructor for Paine College in Augusta). This was the first of 12 stage productions I performed in throughout my career… ranging from comedic and Christian productions to a Shakespearean play.
In 2003, I began my journey in television and film as a background actor in a number of films and shows, with first ones being “The Fighting Temptations,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Lottery Ticket,” & Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.” I later began work as a film stand-in/body double for a number of actors, including Martin Lawrence, Kadeem Hardison, Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Wendell Pierce, GregAlan Williams, and LaVan “Curtis Payne” Davis of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne.”
My other film credits currently televised include:
* Irreconcilable Differences (Tubi TV)
* Dirty South House Arrest (Amazon Prime, Apple TV & Tubi TV)
* Project ISISX (Amazon Prime)
* Personal Injury Court (Amazon Prime, Paramount Television, Apple TV, in syndication on CW)
During my career, I also wore directorial and producer hats. In 2013, I made my directorial debut as an assistant director of music videos of two Atlanta-based independent recording artists DUKES OF DANVILLE (“13th Floor” – 2013) & ELI REVEL (“Just Move It” – 2013). In 2022, I began co-producing in a comedy series which I also co-star titled “THE SHOP” which is slated for release in 2025.
In 2018, I was honored by my peers in the ATL film & television community at the 2nd annual ATL ACTORS’ AWARDS. I was among a group of Atlanta-based actors recognized for their respective career achievements. Other honors and recognitions I’ve received during my career include the “2018 Dr. Martin Luther King JR. Dream Keepers” award for achievements in the field of Arts & Entertainment from the R&R Community & Youth Empowerment Organization, membership eligibility into the Screen Actors Guild for my work on Tyler Perry’s “For Better or Worse” (Episode 235) in May 2012, and “Best Comedy Film Production” award for the film “Dirty South House Arrest” which I co-starred at the 2017 ATL Actors Awards.
I studied acting under some of the most acclaimed actors in the entertainment industry, including.
KIM FIELDS (Living Single, Facts of Life)
CHIP FIELDS-HURD (Good Times, What’s Happening, Living Single)
CLIFTON POWELL (Friday movie sequel, Ray, Norbit, Saints and Sinners, All Eyez on Me)
The late TOMMY FORD (Martin, Harlem Nights)
TERRI J. VAUGHN (Johnson on Bounce, Meet the Browns, Steve Harvey Show)
GREGALAN WILLIAMS (Greenleaf, Baywatch, Remember the Titans, Preacher’s Kid)
MICHAEL H. COLE (BMF, Being Mary Jane, Cobra Kai, Killing Reagan)
In between my filming gigs, I work as a media and publicity consultant, as well as a voiceover artist. I attend Fountain of Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Riverdale, GA, where Rev. Reginald B. Newman is my pastor.
WEBSITE: https://mvoliphant.com
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mvtheactor/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ActorMvOliphant
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Since I was a child, I’ve had a knack for expressing myself, making people laugh and smile. Now I take pride that, as a creative, I can also show, illustrate, teach and share a story (fictional or non-fictional) through a character I take on. I’ve learned that being part of a production is part of “making magic” that can satisfy the imagination of the viewing public, because thats what matters and counts. In the beginning of my career, for me, it was just all about “getting a job.” And yes its important to stay employed and busy. But I’ve learned that its more just getting a job on a film. Its about the storyline, learning the producers plans and direction of the production (especially those by a producer who’s just getting started making a name of him or herself). Because whether that production I get booked to be a part of becomes a success or a failure, my name, face, likeness and performance would be associated with it. As my now-88-year-old mother Pearl Oliphant always taught me……. if I have nothing else, all I have is my good name, and I must protect it at all cost.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Everyone has a different chosen path, paired with different mindset. I believe the majority of our population believe in “playing it safe” by putting all of their stake and destiny into that J-O-B (which in reality may appear solid but its never a guarantee for anyone), and gives the side-eye to anyone who does different. The path of a creative is indeed a “faith walk” where there is much sacrificed, much investment of money and time, much to learn where and where not to invest, and most importantly, requires a sense of belief in your own talent. Talent cannot be taught. Either you have it or you dont. But one has to learn how to hone ones talent to build on ones craft.
Non-creatives who lives life as usual 9x’s outta 10 will not understand what we creatives do nor why we creatives do simply because of their belief and mindset of “playing it safe” and not stepping out on faith. I’ve had a few newbie creatives I’ve mentored express frustration from facing pushback from relatives and so-called friends who criticize them over their chosen path. And I tell them what I had to learn myself. #1 – sooner or later God will show you who’s on your team and who’s not, #2 – God gave YOU the vision to see, not them, and #3 – don’t tell everybody your dreams and aspirations…….SHOW them…….. get “the receipts” (your face on the big or small screens).. Dont waste your time trying to convince people your dreams and aspirations, even if its your family. Tyler Perry once shared a story how his now-late mother tried to get him to move back home to New Orleans and get a job when he struggled to get his career off the ground to the point he was homeless. Imaging how many lives & future careers would’ve been impacted had he gave up and gave in from his mother (a non-creative) plea…….. including mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://MVOliphant.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvtheactor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mvoliphant
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvoliphant/
- Twitter: https://x.com/MVOliphant
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MVTheActor
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mvoliphant
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3470160/
https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/mvoliphant
