Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi Phifer

1974-12-29

Biography

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.

Also appears in

The Silent Hour

The Silent Hour

6.5

Insurgent

Insurgent

6.4

Divergent

Divergent

6.9

Allegiant

Allegiant

6.1

8 Mile

8 Mile

7.1

Lights Out

Lights Out

6.9

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead

7.1

This Christmas

This Christmas

6.5

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

5.4

Honey

Honey

6.3

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

7.5

Pandemic

Pandemic

5.1

Impostor

Impostor

6.1

Flypaper

Flypaper

6.4

Clockers

Clockers

6.7

Shaft

Shaft

6.0

Paid in Full

Paid in Full

6.8

O

O

5.9

Long Gone Heroes

Long Gone Heroes

5.1

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

6.2