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
Insurgent (2015)
as Max
Divergent (2014)
as Max
Allegiant (2016)
as Max
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
as Andre
8 Mile (2002)
as Future
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
as Tyrell
Shaft (2000)
as Trey Howard
Lights Out (2024)
as Max Bomer
Honey (2003)
as Chaz
Clockers (1995)
as Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
The Silent Hour (2024)
as Mason Lynch
Impostor (2001)
as Cale
Pandemic (2016)
as Gunner
Paid in Full (2002)
as Mitch
Flypaper (2011)
as Darrien
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat (2024)
as James Henry
Obsession (2019)
as Sonny
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
as Lewis Johns
Long Gone Heroes (2024)
as Moreao
Be Happy (2026)
as Peter Mosley
Slow Burn (2005)
as Isaac Duperde
Puff, Puff, Pass (2006)
as Big Daddy
This Christmas (2007)
as Gerald
High School High (1996)
as Griff McReynolds
O (2001)
as Odin James
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy (2026)
as Peter Mosley
Hell's Kitchen (1998)
as Johnny Miles
Uninvited Guest (1999)
as Silk
Girl 6 (1996)
as Self (uncredited)
Soul Food (1997)
as Lem
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip (2016)
as Best Valentine
Brian's Song (2001)
as Gale Sayers
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
as Hill
Subway Stories (1997)
as Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002)
as Self
A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014)
as Lewis
Hav Plenty (1997)
as Harold
A Day in the Life (2009)
as King Khi
The Suspect (2013)
as The Suspect
Labyrinth (2025)
Actor
Last Man Standing (2011)
as Jeremy Davis
A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
as Jefferson
Marx (—)
as Axel Marx
Canal Street (2019)
as Prosecutor A.J. Canton
The Other Brother (2002)
as Martin
The Making of '8 Mile' (2003)
as Self
A Talent For Trouble (2018)
as Mekhi Phifer
The Love Section (2013)
as James Johnson
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above (2008)
as Maxwell Terry