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