Mekhi Phifer
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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
Credits
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
as Andre
Flypaper (2011)
as Darrien
Divergent (2014)
as Max
Insurgent (2015)
as Max
8 Mile (2002)
as Future
Allegiant (2016)
as Max
Shaft (2000)
as Trey Howard
Honey (2003)
as Chaz
Lights Out (2024)
as Max Bomer
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
as Tyrell
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
as Lewis Johns
The Silent Hour (2024)
as Mason Lynch
Impostor (2001)
as Cale
Obsession (2019)
as Sonny
Paid in Full (2002)
as Mitch
Girl 6 (1996)
as Self (uncredited)
Clockers (1995)
as Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
Pandemic (2016)
as Gunner
This Christmas (2007)
as Gerald
High School High (1996)
as Griff McReynolds
O (2001)
as Odin James
Soul Food (1997)
as Lem
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy (2026)
as Peter Mosley
Slow Burn (2005)
as Isaac Duperde
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
as Hill
Subway Stories (1997)
as Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
Puff, Puff, Pass (2006)
as Big Daddy
Long Gone Heroes (2024)
as Moreao
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat (2024)
as James Henry
Be Happy (2026)
as Peter Mosley
The Suspect (2013)
as The Suspect
Hav Plenty (1997)
as Harold
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip (2016)
as Best Valentine
Last Man Standing (2011)
as Jeremy Davis
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002)
as Self
Hell's Kitchen (1998)
as Johnny Miles
A Day in the Life (2009)
as King Khi
Canal Street (2019)
as Prosecutor A.J. Canton
A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014)
as Lewis
Uninvited Guest (1999)
as Silk
Brian's Song (2001)
as Gale Sayers
A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
as Jefferson
The Love Section (2013)
as James Johnson
A Talent For Trouble (2018)
as Mekhi Phifer
The Other Brother (2002)
as Martin
Marx (—)
as Axel Marx
The Making of '8 Mile' (2003)
as Self
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above (2008)
as Maxwell Terry