Mekhi Phifer
Acting
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
Acting78
movieBe Happy
2026
Peter Mosley
movieMary J. Blige Presents Be Happy
2026
Peter Mosley
movieThe Silent Hour
2024
Mason Lynch
tvHigh Potential
2024
Arthur Ellis
movieLights Out
2024
Max Bomer
tvLove, Victor
2020
Harold Brooks
tvTruth Be Told
2019
Markus Killebrew
movieObsession
2019
Sonny
movieCanal Street
2019
Prosecutor A.J. Canton
tvThe Bobby Brown Story
2018
Tommy Brown
movieA Talent For Trouble
2018
Mekhi Phifer
tvFrequency
2016
Satch Reyna
movieChocolate City: Vegas Strip
2016
Best Valentine
tvMatch Game
2016
Self - Panelist
tvSecret City
2016
Ambassador Moreton
tvRoots
2016
Jerusalem
moviePandemic
2016
Gunner
tvChicago P.D.
2014
Joe Baker
movieThe Love Section
2013
James Johnson
movieThe Suspect
2013
The Suspect
tvKey & Peele
2012
Cousin
movieFlypaper
2011
Darrien
movieLast Man Standing
2011
Jeremy Davis
tvWhite Collar
2009
Kyle Collins
movieA Day in the Life
2009
King Khi
tvLie to Me
2009
Ben Reynolds
movieNora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
2008
Maxwell Terry
movieThis Christmas
2007
Gerald
tvTorchwood
2006
Rex Matheson
tvPsych
2006
Drake
moviePuff, Puff, Pass
2006
Big Daddy
movieSlow Burn
2005
Isaac Duperde
movieHoney
2003
Chaz
tvPunk'd
2003
Self
movie8 Mile
2002
Future
movieBrian's Song
2001
Gale Sayers
movieO
2001
Odin James
tvCurb Your Enthusiasm
2000
Omar Jones
movieShaft
2000
Trey Howard
movieA Lesson Before Dying
1999
Jefferson
movieHell's Kitchen
1998
Johnny Miles
movieHav Plenty
1997
Harold
tvThe View
1997
Self
movieSubway Stories
1997
Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
movieHigh School High
1996
Griff McReynolds
movieGirl 6
1996
Self (uncredited)
movieClockers
1995
Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
movieThe Tuskegee Airmen
1995
Lewis Johns
tvER
1994
Greg Pratt
tvLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Self - Guest
tvHomicide: Life on the Street
1993
Nathaniel Lee 'Junior Bunk' Mahoney
tvLaw & Order
1990
Lyman Ross
tvMiss USA
1963
Self - Judge
Marx
Axel Marx
Production2
movieLights Out
2024
Co-Executive Producer
moviePuff, Puff, Pass
2006
Producer
Crew1
movieNora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
2008
Production Artist
Directing1
moviePuff, Puff, Pass
2006
Director