Mekhi Phifer
Acting • Born 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.
Filmography
77 credits
8 Mile
Movie • 2002
Future
Dawn of the Dead
Movie • 2004
Andre
The Silent Hour
Movie • 2024
Mason Lynch
Honey
Movie • 2003
Chaz
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Movie • 1998
Tyrell
O
Movie • 2001
Odin James
Clockers
Movie • 1995
Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
A Day in the Life
Movie • 2009
King Khi
The Tuskegee Airmen
Movie • 1995
Lewis Johns
Puff, Puff, Pass
Movie • 2006
Big Daddy
High School High
Movie • 1996
Griff McReynolds
Paid in Full
Movie • 2002
Mitch
Uninvited Guest
Movie • 1999
Silk
Soul Food
Movie • 1997
Lem
Flypaper
Movie • 2011
Darrien
Hell's Kitchen
Movie • 1998
Johnny Miles
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Movie • 2001
Hill
Slow Burn
Movie • 2005
Isaac Duperde
A Lesson Before Dying
Movie • 1999
Jefferson
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
Movie • 2008
Maxwell Terry
Lights Out
Movie • 2024
Max Bomer
Last Man Standing
Movie • 2011
Jeremy Davis
Hav Plenty
Movie • 1997
Harold
The Other Brother
Movie • 2002
Martin
Divergent
Movie • 2014
Max
The Love Section
Movie • 2013
James Johnson
The Making of '8 Mile'
Movie • 2003
Self
The Suspect
Movie • 2013
The Suspect
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Movie • 2002
Self
Insurgent
Movie • 2015
Max
Impostor
Movie • 2001
Cale
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
Movie • 2024
James Henry
Pandemic
Movie • 2016
Gunner
Long Gone Heroes
Movie • 2024
Moreao
Allegiant
Movie • 2016
Max
Brian's Song
Movie • 2001
Gale Sayers
A Talent For Trouble
Movie • 2018
Mekhi Phifer
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip
Movie • 2016
Best Valentine
This Christmas
Movie • 2007
Gerald
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Movie • 2014
Lewis
Canal Street
Movie • 2019
Prosecutor A.J. Canton
Girl 6
Movie • 1996
Himself (cameo) (uncredited)
Shaft
Movie • 2000
Trey Howard
Obsession
Movie • 2019
Sonny
Subway Stories
Movie • 1997
Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
Be Happy
Movie • 2026
Peter Mosley
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy
Movie • 2026
Peter Mosley
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV • 2003
Self
Best Week Ever
TV • 2004
Torchwood
TV • 2006
Rex Matheson
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV • 2003
Self
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The View
TV • 1997
Self
New York Undercover
TV • 1994
Sekou
Curb Your Enthusiasm
TV • 2000
Omar Jones
Homicide: Life on the Street
TV • 1993
Nathaniel Lee 'Junior Bunk' Mahoney
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV • 1993
Self - Guest
ER
TV • 1994
Greg Pratt
Lie to Me
TV • 2009
Ben Reynolds
Psych
TV • 2006
Drake
White Collar
TV • 2009
Kyle Collins
Punk'd
TV • 2003
Self
Frequency
TV • 2016
Satch Reyna
Match Game
TV • 2016
Self - Panelist
Truth Be Told
TV • 2019
Markus Killebrew
Hollywood Game Night
TV • 2013
Self
The Bobby Brown Story
TV • 2018
Tommy Brown
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
TV • 2004
Self
Secret City
TV • 2016
Ambassador Moreton
Love, Victor
TV • 2020
Harold Brooks
Chicago P.D.
TV • 2014
Joe Baker
Beat Bobby Flay
TV • 2013
Self
Key & Peele
TV • 2012
Cousin
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Lyman Ross
Miss USA
TV • 1963
Self - Judge
Roots
TV • 2016
Jerusalem
High Potential
TV • 2024
Arthur Ellis