Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi Phifer (/mɛˌkaɪ ˈfaɪfər/ meh-KY FY-fər; born December 29, 1973) is an American actor. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s, Phifer was known for a few notable roles in films including Clockers, Soul Food, High School High and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. In 2002, he had a co-starring role opposite rapper Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. His most notable television role is that of Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running (1994–2009) medical drama ER from 2002 to 2008. In 2013, he became a recurring cast member during season three on the Showtime drama House of Lies. From July to October 2011, he played the role of CIA officer Rex Matheson in the British–American science fiction television show, Torchwood: Miracle Day. In 2024, he starred in the gritty, action feature film, Long Gone Heroes alongside Frank Grillo and Andy Garcia. Phifer also appeared in the 1998 music video for "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica.^[1]

Mekhi Phifer
Phifer at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1973-12-29) December 29, 1973 (age 51) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1994–present
Spouses	Malinda Williams ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2003)​ Reshelet Barnes Phifer ​ ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	2

Early life

Phifer was born on December 29, 1973,^[2][3] in Harlem, New York City. He grew up in a single-parent household with his mother, Rhoda Phifer,^[4] a high-school teacher.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In 1994, while attending Columbia University to study electrical engineering, 19-year-old 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.^[3] 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 horror film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. He also starred in the film Paid in Full in 2002.

He portrayed Dr. Gregory Pratt on the NBC medical drama ER, a role which he introduced in April 2002. Phifer left the show in September 2008, in the first episode of Season 15. His character died during the conclusion of the season 14 finale cliffhanger involving an ambulance explosion that was rigged to kill an injured FBI informant (Steve Buscemi). During his six years in the show, he was nominated twice for an NAACP Image Award.

Phifer on the flight deck of USS Nimitz in 2004

Phifer's television credits include the film The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), HBO's Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997). He received additional notice for his performance opposite singer Beyoncé Knowles (from Destiny's Child) on MTV's alternative take on the Carmen legend with the film Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001).

Phifer had a recurring guest role in the fifth and sixth seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street, portraying "Junior Bunk", the troubled nephew of Baltimore drug lord Luther Mahoney, and also guest-starred in New York Undercover. He earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for the TV film, A Lesson Before Dying, opposite Don Cheadle. In 2009, Phifer began a guest-starring arc on the Fox drama Lie to Me.^[5]

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, an urban classic, that has given him notorious recognition as he portrayed Mitch and director Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile, opposite Eminem. He is mentioned in the lyrics of the Grammy and Academy Award winning song "Lose Yourself" by Eminem.

In June 2011, Phifer starred alongside John Barrowman and Eve Myles as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of the BBC/Starz Entertainment TV show Torchwood. In December of that year, he also starred on Broadway in Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly.

Phifer starred as Agent Collins in the fourth season of White Collar.

He made a guest appearance on the sitcom series Husbands in its second season.^[6]

In fall 2016, he joined the TV show Frequency as a series regular.

Personal life

Phifer has a son with his former wife, actress Malinda Williams. His second son was born to Oni Souratha in Los Angeles in 2007.^[7] On March 30, 2013, Phifer married his longtime girlfriend Reshelet Barnes in Beverly Hills, California.^[8]

Political views

On October 2023, amidst the Gaza war, Mekhi Phifer, along with other 700 notable Hollywood figures, signed an open letter, written by Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), in support of Israel.^[9]

Other activities

Phifer was the winner of the Celebrity Poker Showdown's fourth tournament, defeating Matthew Perry, Dennis Rodman, Kevin Nealon and Neil Patrick Harris in the Championship game. Phifer plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Love Our Children USA charity. Phifer is chairman of the board of trustees of The Vine Group USA.^[10] a non-profit organization established in 2000 to provide educational resources to universities in Africa. He has signed up with Full Tilt Poker. He has his own well on the poker forum 2+2.

Phifer is an owner of a number of Athlete's Foot athletic shoe-store franchises in California.^[3]

In January 2011, Phifer launched Third Reel Films.^[11] The stated mission of the company is to provide an environment for filmmakers to showcase their work to entertainment representatives, acquisition executives, and other key-industry professionals.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	The Tuskegee Airmen	Lewis Johns	Television film
	Clockers	Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
1996	Girl 6	Himself
	High School High	Griff McReynolds
	Sureshot	Kevin
1997	SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground	Man in Hallway	Television film
	Soul Food	Lem Van Adams
	Hav Plenty	Harold
1998	Hell's Kitchen	Johnny
	I Still Know What You Did Last Summer	Tyrell Martin
1999	A Lesson Before Dying	Jefferson	Television film
	Uninvited Guest	Silk
2000	Shaft	Trey Howard
2001	Carmen: A Hip Hopera	Derek Hill	Television film
	O	Odin "O" James
	Impostor	Cale
	Brian's Song	Gale Sayers	Television film
	Head Games	John Ambrose, Jr. 'John John'
2002	The Other Brother	Martin
	Paid in Full	Mitch
	8 Mile	David "Future" Porter
2003	Honey	Chaz
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Andre
2005	Slow Burn	Isaac Duperde
2006	Puff, Puff, Pass	Big Daddy
2007	This Christmas	Gerald
2008	Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above	Dr. Terry
2009	A Day in the Life	King Khi
2010	Tenement	Tyrese Harris
2011	Flypaper	Darrien
	Last Man Standing	Jeremy Davis	Television film
2013	The Suspect	The Suspect
	The Love Section	James Johnson
2014	Divergent	Max
	A Day Late and a Dollar Short	Lewis	Television film
2015	The Divergent Series: Insurgent	Max
2016	Pandemic	Gunner
	The Divergent Series: Allegiant	Max
2017	Chocolate City: Vegas Strip	Best Valentine
2018	A Talent for Trouble	Mekhi Phifer
	Canal Street	Prosecutor A.J Canton
2019	Obsession	Sonny
2024	Lights Out	Max Bomer	[12]
	The Supremes At Earl's All-You-Can-Eat	James Henry
	Long Gone Heroes	Moreao
	The Silent Hour	Mason Lynch
TBA	New Jersey's Finest	Steve Sugar	Pre-production
	10-13	Dave Harris

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Models Inc.	Model #2	Episode: "By Crook or by Hook"
1995–96	New York Undercover	Dion Broat / Sekou	2 episodes
1996–98	Homicide: Life on the Street	Nathaniel Lee "Junior Bunk" Mahoney	3 episodes
2002–08	ER	Dr. Gregory Pratt	Recurring cast: season 8, main cast: season 9–14, guest: season 15
2004	Punk'd	Himself	Episode: "Episode #3.6"
2005	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Omar Jones	Recurring cast: season 5
2008	The Black Poker Stars Invitational	Himself	TV series
2009–11	Lie to Me	Ben Reynolds	Recurring cast: season 1, main cast: season 2
2011	Torchwood	Agent Rex Matheson	Main cast: season 4
2012	Psych	Drake	Episode: "Let's Doo-Wop It Again"
	White Collar	Kyle Collins	Episode: "Wanted" & "Most Wanted"
	Husbands	Mark	Episode: "The Straightening"
2014	House of Lies	Andrew "Dre" Collins	Recurring cast: season 3
2015	Key & Peele	Cousin	Episode: "Hollywood Sequel Doctor"
2016	Roots	Jerusalem	Episode: "Part 4"
	Secret City	US Ambassador to Australia Moreton	Main cast: season 1
2016–17	Frequency	Satch Reyna	Main cast
2017	Match Game	Himself/Celebrity Panelist	TV series
2018	Chicago P.D.	Joe Baker	Episode: "Captive"
	The Bobby Brown Story	Tommy Brown	2 episodes
2019–23	Truth Be Told	Markus Killebrew	Main cast
2020–22	Love, Victor	Harold Brooks	Recurring cast
2025	Law & Order	Lyman Ross	Episode: "Greater Good"

Music videos

• 1994: "Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack
• 1996: "Wu Wear" by Wu-Tang Clan
• 1996: "So Many Ways" by The Braxtons
• 1996: "Nobody" by Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
• 1996: "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue
• 1998: "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica
• 1999: "BOOM" by Royce da 5'9"
• 2002: "Lose Yourself" by Eminem
• 2003: "Many Men (Wish Death)" by 50 Cent
• 2003: "Without Me" by Eminem
• 2004: "Just Lose It" by Eminem