M.V.'s Story

He has performed in stage plays, appeared in television commercials, sitcoms, television drama series, crime reenactment shows, a music video, movies and even appeared in a court television show......as well as co-directed a music video & currently co-producing a comedy web-series....... not bad for this Morehouse Man who didn't start his journey in the entertainment industry until his late 30's. 

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M.V. OLIPHANT (born Mark V. Oliphant) is a triple-threat entertainer (actor, singer, voiceover artist) based in Atlanta, GA who has appeared in television and stage plays in a span of more than 25 years. Among his career appearance highlights include:

** Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse ("The Big Day"episode in 2012)

** TV One's Fatal Attraction

- Episode 201: "Ambushed by Love" as lead character Jerry Logan (first aired August 2014)

- Episode 420: "Demons of the Past" as Detective Davidson (first aired April 2016)
 

**National television commercials on ESPN for the 2015 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl with NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt JR., and in 2021 through 2022 for Dodge RAM Truck with Marty Smith
 

** Music video by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole "A Lot" in 2018, 

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A native of Augusta, GA (by way of neighboring rural town of Wrens, GA) he began his acting career as a hobby three years after receiving his degree from Morehouse College by performing a self-written and produced one-man monologue entitled “The Choice is Yours” at his family home church Broadway Baptist Church. A member of the church who watched his performance became his 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 him 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). 

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Other stage productions MV performed include:

** HALEY (autobiographical musical play based on the life of Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson)

** “WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN;”comedic Gospel production

** “RESURRECTION: MORNING GLORY” Good Friday production at his current church Fountain of Faith Church in Riverdale, GA in a daring portrayal of satan

** ACAPPELLA THE MUSICAL as choir director at odds with the church pastor as to ways to help their financially struggling church get back on its feet 

** "THE FACE OF HOMELESS"as a homeless Persian Gulf War veteran suffering from PTSD i

** "ONE IN THE SPIRIT" a comedy/drama stage about struggles faced in marriage by three generations of couples  

** "WHO'S HOLIDAY IS IT ANYWAY"a Christmas Holiday parody directed by actor & Morehouse classmate Thom Scott II (American Soul, Saints & Sinners)

** "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" Shakespearean play as Don Pedro & Friar Francis with Mirth Theatre as part of "Shakespeare on Ponce" outdoor theatre series hosted by RoleCall Theatre  

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In 2003, Mark Oliphant began his journey in television and film as a background actor in a number of films and shows, including "The Fighting Temptations," "Lottery Ticket," Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" and "Haves and Have Nots." He later began work as a stand-in/film body double for a number of actors including Martin Lawrence, Kadeem Hardison, Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Wendell Pierce, GregAlan Williams, and LeVan “Curtis Payne” Davis of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” 

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M.V. has co-starred in a number of independent films both televised and featured in a number of film festivals across the country, namely:

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** IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES (produced & directed by Thomas Green JR starring Pamela Ricardo & rapper Greg Nice) released in 2021, currently on Tubi TV

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**DIRTY SOUTH HOUSE ARREST (produced by Daphne Pittman-Hayes co-starring with comedian/actors Rodney Perry, Pierre, DC Yung Fly & Emmanuel Hudson) currently available on Amazon Prime, Roku & Tubi TV - featured in the 2017 Black Hollywood Film Festival in Marina del Ray, CA 

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** PROJECT ISISX (produced by Richard Tavernaro) - An action picture currently available on Amazon Prime, Roku, which has earned the "Award of Excellence" in the 2019 LaJolla Film Festival in LaJolla, CA.

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** MARCH (produced by Richard A. Worthy) a sci-fi feature film which has been screened in a number of film festivals in 2020, including the Black History International Film Festival in Jamaica Queens, NY, the Cobb International Film Festival in Marietta, GA, the Las Vegas Black Film Festival, the Summer in the South Film Festival in Atlanta, and the 2021 Madrid International Film Festival in Madrid, Spain (received four award nominations and one win).

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** SHAYLA'S CATCH PREQUEL (Episode 108 "Blood on Your Hands" - produced & directed by Sonya Jenkins) a drama/romance television series debut in 2021 currently available on Amazon Prime.  

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During his career, Mark Oliphant also wore directoral and producer hats. In 2013, he made his directorial debut as an assistant director of music videos of two Atlanta-based recording artists DUKES OF DaVILLE ("13th Floor") & ELI REVEL (Just Move It ) 

In 2022, M.V. made his debut as a co-producer in a comedy series he's co-starring titled "THE SHOP"currently being pitched to video-on-demand networks.

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In 2018, Mark was honored by his peers in the ATL film & television community at the 2nd annual ATL ACTORS AWARDS. He was among a group of Atlanta-based actors recognized for their respective career achievements. Other honors and recognitions he has received during his 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 his work on Tyler Perry's "For Better or Worse" (Episode 235) in May 2012, and "Best Comedy Film Production" award for the film he co-starred "Dirty South House Arrest" at the 2017 ATL Actors Awards.

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MV has received sitcom acting and theatrical training under some of the most acclaimed actors in the entertainment industry, including

** KIM FIELDS (Living Single, Facts of Life)

**CHIP FIELDS-HURD (Good Times, Living Single)

**CLIFTON POWELL (Friday movie sequel, Ray, Saints and Sinners)

**the late TOMMY FORD (Martin, Harlem Nights)

**TERRI J. VAUGHN (Johnson, 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)

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A former member of the Morehouse College Glee Club, M.V. has performed as a vocalist with a number of bands in both his hometown of Augusta and in Atlanta, namely PLAYBACK The Band, TOP Show Band, South Atlantic Band and briefly with family Gospel group Bobby Dunn & Friends. He also sung with the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus of Atlanta, with whom he took part in the nationally televised annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commemoration Ecumenical Service from 2015 through 2019.  

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M.V. Oliphant past & present organizational affiliations are as follows:

** MOREHOUSE COLLEGE NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

(Life member &1991 graduate) 

** THOMAS WALTER JOSEY HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI FOUNDATION of Augusta, GA (Life member & 1985 graduate).

** OMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY Inc. (Initiated through Psi Omega chapter in Augusta, GA on July 10, 1999).  

** CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA FOOTBALL CLASSIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS in Augusta (1997- 1998),

** THE MALE ROOM FOUNDATION Mentoring program in Augusta (1997-1998) 

** BE MORE POSITIVE Youth Enrichment Curriculum Program (2001 to 2018).

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AWARDS & HONORS

Honoree - The 2018 ATL Actors Awards 

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Recipient of the "DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DREAM KEEPERS AWARD" for achievements in the field of Arts & Entertainment from the R&R Community & Youth Empowerment Organization (2018)

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Best Comedy Film Production - "Dirty South House Arrest" (co-star) - The 2017 ATL Actors Awards
 

Membership eligibility into the Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA (May 2012 - Tyler Perry's "For Better or Worse" Episode 235)
 

Association of Southern Movie Workers Certification (2012)