Mekhi Phifer
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.
Born: 29 December 1974
Played In
Movie
Feb 2026
Be Happy
Peter Mosley
Movie
Feb 2026
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy
Peter Mosley
Movie
Oct 2024
The Silent Hour
Mason Lynch
TV Show
Sep 2024
High Potential
Arthur Ellis
Movie
Sep 2024
Long Gone Heroes
Moreao
Movie
Aug 2024
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
James Henry
Movie
Feb 2024
Lights Out
Max Bomer
TV Show
Jun 2020
Love, Victor
Harold Brooks
TV Show
Dec 2019
Truth Be Told
Markus Killebrew
Movie
Sep 2019
Obsession
Sonny
Movie
Jan 2019
Canal Street
Prosecutor A.J. Canton
TV Show
Sep 2018
The Bobby Brown Story
Tommy Brown
Movie
Apr 2018
A Talent For Trouble
Mekhi Phifer
TV Show
Oct 2016
Frequency
Satch Reyna
Movie
Jul 2016
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip
Best Valentine
TV Show
Jun 2016
Match Game
Self - Panelist
TV Show
Jun 2016
Secret City
Ambassador Moreton
TV Show
May 2016
Roots
Jerusalem
Movie
Mar 2016
Allegiant
Max
Movie
Feb 2016
Pandemic
Gunner
Movie
Mar 2015
Insurgent
Max
Movie
Apr 2014
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Lewis
Movie
Mar 2014
Divergent
Max
TV Show
Jan 2014
Chicago P.D.
Joe Baker
TV Show
Aug 2013
Beat Bobby Flay
Self
TV Show
Jul 2013
Hollywood Game Night
Self
Movie
Feb 2013
The Love Section
James Johnson
Movie
Jan 2013
The Suspect
The Suspect
TV Show
Jan 2012
Key & Peele
Cousin
Movie
Aug 2011
Flypaper
Darrien
Movie
Jun 2011
Last Man Standing
Jeremy Davis
TV Show
Oct 2009
White Collar
Kyle Collins
Movie
Jul 2009
A Day in the Life
King Khi
TV Show
Jan 2009
Lie to Me
Ben Reynolds
Movie
May 2008
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
Maxwell Terry
Movie
Nov 2007
This Christmas
Gerald
TV Show
Oct 2006
Torchwood
Rex Matheson
TV Show
Jul 2006
Psych
Drake
Movie
May 2006
Puff, Puff, Pass
Big Daddy
Movie
Sep 2005
Slow Burn
Isaac Duperde
Movie
Mar 2004
Dawn of the Dead
Andre
TV Show
Jan 2004
Best Week Ever
TV Show
Jan 2004
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Self
Movie
Dec 2003
Honey
Chaz
TV Show
Sep 2003
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
Movie
Mar 2003
The Making of '8 Mile'
Self
TV Show
Mar 2003
Punk'd
Self
TV Show
Jan 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
Movie
Nov 2002
8 Mile
Future
Movie
Oct 2002
Paid in Full
Mitch
Movie
May 2002
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
Movie
Apr 2002
The Other Brother
Martin
Movie
Dec 2001
Impostor
Cale
Movie
Dec 2001
Brian's Song
Gale Sayers
Movie
Aug 2001
O
Odin James
Movie
May 2001
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Hill
TV Show
Oct 2000
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Omar Jones
Movie
Jun 2000
Shaft
Trey Howard
Movie
Jun 1999
Uninvited Guest
Silk
Movie
May 1999
A Lesson Before Dying
Jefferson
Movie
Nov 1998
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Tyrell
Movie
Sep 1998
Hell's Kitchen
Johnny Miles
Movie
Sep 1997
Soul Food
Lem
Movie
Sep 1997
Hav Plenty
Harold
TV Show
Aug 1997
The View
Self
Movie
Jul 1997
Subway Stories
Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
Movie
Oct 1996
High School High
Griff McReynolds
TV Show
Jul 1996
The Daily Show
Self
Movie
Mar 1996
Girl 6
Himself (cameo) (uncredited)
Movie
Sep 1995
Clockers
Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
Movie
Aug 1995
The Tuskegee Airmen
Lewis Johns
TV Show
Sep 1994
ER
Greg Pratt
TV Show
Sep 1994
New York Undercover
Sekou
TV Show
Sep 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
TV Show
Jan 1993
Homicide: Life on the Street
Nathaniel Lee 'Junior Bunk' Mahoney
TV Show
Sep 1990
Law & Order
Lyman Ross
TV Show
Jul 1963
Miss USA
Self - Judge
Movie
Marx
Axel Marx