Mekhi Phifer

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

Birth Location New York City, New York, USA
Born 1974-12-29

Movies

The Silent Hour as Lynch
2024
Lights Out as Max Bomer
2024
Obsession as Sonny
2019
Canal Street as Prosecutor A.J. Canton
2019
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip as Best Valentine
2016
Allegiant as Max
2016
Pandemic as Gunner
2016
Insurgent as Max
2015
Divergent as Max
2014
The Love Section as James Johnson
2013
The Suspect as The Suspect
2013
Flypaper as Darrien
2011
Last Man Standing as Jeremy Davis
2011
A Day in the Life as King Khi
2009
2008
This Christmas as Gerald
2007
Puff, Puff, Pass as Big Daddy
2006
Slow Burn as Isaac Duperde
2005
Dawn of the Dead as Andre
2004
Honey as Chaz
2003
2003
8 Mile as David "Future" Porter
2002
Paid in Full as Mitch
2002
The Other Brother as Martin
2002
Impostor as Cale
2001
Brian's Song as Gale Sayers
2001
O as Odin James
2001
2001
Shaft as Trey Howard
2000
Uninvited Guest as Silk
1999
A Lesson Before Dying as Jefferson
1999
Hell's Kitchen as Johnny Miles
1998
Soul Food as Lem
1997
Hav Plenty as Harold
1997
Subway Stories as Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
1997
High School High as Griff McReynolds
1996
Girl 6 as Himself (cameo) (uncredited)
1996
Clockers as Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
1995
The Tuskegee Airmen as Lewis Johns
1995

Movies

Lights Out Co-Executive Producer
2024
2008
Puff, Puff, Pass Producer
2006
Puff, Puff, Pass Director
2006