Mekhi Phifer
- Acting
- December 29, 1974 · New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Mekhi Thira Phifer (born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. He was a regular on the Fox crime show Lie to Me portraying the role of Ben Reynolds, before season 3. He was born in in Harlem, New York City, the son of Rhoda Phifer, a high school teacher; he grew up in a single-parent household with his mother. His acting career began in 1995, when Phifer attended an open casting call for director Spike Lee’s Clockers, beating over a thousand others to get the lead role as a narcotics dealer embroiled in a murder cover-up. He followed that role with another in the comedy spoof feature High School High (which also starred his former wife Malinda Williams) and continued by co-starring in the fright flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr. Among Phifer’s other big-screen credits are Soul Food, The Biography of Spud Webb, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, Tears of a Clown, O (as the titular character Odin a.k.a. O), and the thriller Uninvited Guest (as Silk). He appeared in Impostor as well as Paid in Full, 8 Mile, opposite Eminem and Dawn of the Dead. Phifer has a son, Omikaye, with his ex-wife, actress Malinda Williams. His second son, Mekhi Thira Phifer Jr., was born to his girlfriend Oni Souratha in Los Angeles on October 30, 2007.
Known for
Filmography
- Be Happy · Peter Mosley
- Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy · Peter Mosley
- Labyrinth
- Celebrity Weakest Link · Self
- The Silent Hour · Mason Lynch
- High Potential · Arthur Ellis
- Long Gone Heroes · Moreao
- The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat · James Henry
- Lights Out · Max Bomer, Co-Executive Producer
- Love, Victor · Harold Brooks
- Truth Be Told · Markus Killebrew
- Obsession · Sonny
- Canal Street · Prosecutor A.J. Canton
- The Bobby Brown Story · Tommy Brown
- A Talent For Trouble · Mekhi Phifer
- Frequency · Satch Reyna
- Chocolate City: Vegas Strip · Best Valentine
- Match Game · Self
- Secret City · Ambassador Moreton
- Roots · Jerusalem
- Allegiant · Max
- Pandemic · Gunner
- Insurgent · Max
- A Day Late and a Dollar Short · Lewis
- Divergent · Max
- Chicago P.D. · Joe Baker
- Beat Bobby Flay · Self
- Hollywood Game Night · Self
- The Love Section · James Johnson
- The Suspect · The Suspect
- Key & Peele · Cousin
- House of Lies · Dre Collins
- Flypaper · Darrien
- Last Man Standing · Jeremy Davis
- White Collar · Kyle Collins
- A Day in the Life · King Khi
- Lie to Me · Ben Reynolds
- Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above · Maxwell Terry, Production Artist
- Black Poker Stars Invitational · Self
- This Christmas · Gerald
- Torchwood · Rex Matheson
- Psych · Drake
- Puff, Puff, Pass · Big Daddy, Director
- Slow Burn · Isaac Duperde
- Dawn of the Dead · Andre
- Best Week Ever
- On Air with Ryan Seacrest · Self
- Honey · Chaz
- Scarface: Origins of a Hip Hop Classic
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show · Self
- The Making of '8 Mile' · Self
- Punk'd · Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! · Self
- 8 Mile · Future
- Paid in Full · Mitch
- NBC 75th Anniversary Special · Self
- The Other Brother · Martin
- Impostor · Cale
- Brian's Song · Gale Sayers
- O · Odin James
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera · Hill
- Curb Your Enthusiasm · Omar Jones
- Shaft · Trey Howard
- Uninvited Guest · Silk
- A Lesson Before Dying · Jefferson
- I Still Know What You Did Last Summer · Tyrell
- Hell's Kitchen · Johnny Miles
- Soul Food · Lem
- Hav Plenty · Harold
- The View · Self
- Subway Stories · Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
- High School High · Griff McReynolds
- The Daily Show · Self
- Girl 6 · Self
- Clockers · Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
- The Tuskegee Airmen · Lewis Johns
- ER · Greg Pratt
- New York Undercover · Sekou
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien · Self
- Homicide: Life on the Street · Nathaniel Lee 'Junior Bunk' Mahoney