| Mekhi Phifer | |
|---|---|
Phifer on the flight deck of USS Nimitz in 2004. |
|
| Born | Mekhi Thira Phifer December 29, 1974 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, director, producer, rapper |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Malinda Williams (1999–2003) |
Mekhi Thira Phifer ( /mɛˌkaɪ ˈfaɪfər/; born December 29, 1974)[1] 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 in the role of Ben Reynolds, before season 3, and also starred as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day.
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Phifer was born 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.[2][3]
In 1995, 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.[1] 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.
He is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Gregory Pratt on the medical drama ER, that he started in April 2002. Phifer left the show in September 2008, in the first episode of Season 15. His character was tragically killed off in the conclusion of the season 14 finale cliffhanger involving an ambulance explosion that was rigged to kill an injured FBI informant (Steve Buscemi). During his 6 years in the show, he was nominated twice for an NAACP Award.
Phifer’s television credits include the movies The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), HBO's Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997), and Brian's Song (2001) (as former Chicago Bear Gale Sayers). He received additional notice for his performance opposite singer Beyoncé Knowles (from Destiny’s Child) on MTV’s alternative take on the Carmen legend with the movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001). Phifer guest-starred in the series Homicide: Life on the Street and New York Undercover. Likewise, he earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for another TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying, opposite Don Cheadle. In 2009, Phifer began a guest-starring arc on the Fox drama Lie to Me.[4]
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 and director Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile, opposite Eminem. He is mentioned in the Grammy and Academy Award winning song "Lose Yourself" by Eminem.
Mekhi Phifer will appear as a guest on Season 2 of Top Chef Masters.[5]
In December 2010, it was announced that Phifer will star alongside John Barrowman and Eve Myles as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of the BBC/Starz Entertainment television show Torchwood.
Phifer has a son, Omikaye, with his ex-wife, actress Malinda Williams. His second son, Mekhi Thira Phifer Jr., was born to his Laotian girlfriend Oni Souratha in Los Angeles on October 30, 2007.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Tuskegee Airmen | Lewis Johns |
| Clockers | Ronald 'Strike' Dunham | |
| 1996 | High School High | Griff McReynolds |
| 1997 | Soul Food | Lem |
| 1998 | Hell's Kitchen | Johnny |
| 1998 | I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | Tyrell |
| 1999 | A Lesson Before Dying | Jefferson |
| Uninvited Guest | Silk | |
| 2000 | Shaft | Trey Howard |
| 2001 | Carmen: A Hip Hopera | Derek Hill |
| O | Odin "O" James | |
| Impostor | Cale | |
| Brian's Song | Gale Sayers | |
| 2002 | 8 Mile | David "Future" Porter |
| Paid in Full | Mitch | |
| 2003 | Honey | Chaz |
| 2004 | Dawn of the Dead | Andre |
| 2005 | Slow Burn | Isaac Duperde |
| 2006 | Puff, Puff, Pass | Big Daddy |
| 2007 | This Christmas | Gerald |
| 2008 | Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above | Dr. Terry |
| A Talent for Trouble | Mekhi | |
| 2009 | A Day in the Life | King Khi |
Phifer was the 2004 winner of the Celebrity Poker Showdown Championship, defeating Neil Patrick Harris during the fourth season. Phifer plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Love Our Children USA charity. Phifer is chairman of the board of trustees of The Vine Group USA.[6] a non-profit organization established in 2000 to provide educational resources to universities in Africa. He has signed up with Full Tilt Poker. He has his own well on the well known poker forum 2+2
Phifer is an owner of six Athlete's Foot athletic shoe store franchises in California.[1]
In January 2011 Mekhi Phifer launched Third Reel Films[7] The stated mission of the company is to provide an environment for filmmakers to showcase their work to entertainment representatives, acquisition executives and other key industry professionals.