Mekhi Phifer ( ; born December 29, 1974) 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. He also appeared in the 1998 music video for "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. 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, whom he portrayed from 2002 to 2008 on NBC's long-running medical drama ER (1994–2009). 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 2013, he became a recurring cast member during season three on the Showtime drama House of Lies. Phifer starred in the action feature film Long Gone Heroes, with Frank Grillo and Andy Garcia, in 2024.
Early life
Phifer was born on December 29, 1974, in Harlem, New York City. He grew up in a single-parent household with his mother, Rhoda Phifer, an elementary school teacher. He never met his father.
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.
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.
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. On March 30, 2013, Phifer married his longtime girlfriend Reshelet Barnes in Beverly Hills, California.
Political views
In October 2023, amid 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.
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. 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. 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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1995
| The Tuskegee Airmen
| Lewis Johns
| Television film
|-
| Clockers
| Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1996
| Girl 6
| Himself
|
|-
| High School High
| Griff McReynolds
|
|-
| Sureshot
| Kevin
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1997
| SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground
| Man in Hallway
| Television film
|-
| Soul Food
| Lem Van Adams
|
|-
| Hav Plenty
| Harold
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1998
| Hell's Kitchen
| Johnny
|
|-
| I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
| Tyrell Martin
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1999
| A Lesson Before Dying
| Jefferson
| Television film
|-
| Uninvited Guest
| Silk
|
|-
| 2000
| Shaft
| Trey Howard
|
|-
|rowspan="5"| 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'
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 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
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2011
| Flypaper
| Darrien
|
|-
| Last Man Standing
| Jeremy Davis
| Television film
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2013
| The Suspect
| The Suspect
|
|-
| The Love Section
| James Johnson
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2014
| Divergent
| Max
|
|-
| A Day Late and a Dollar Short
| Lewis
| Television film
|-
| 2015
| The Divergent Series: Insurgent
| Max
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2016
| Pandemic
| Gunner
|
|-
| The Divergent Series: Allegiant
| Max
|
|-
| 2017
| Chocolate City: Vegas Strip
| Best Valentine
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2018
| A Talent for Trouble
| Mekhi Phifer
|
|-
| Canal Street
| Prosecutor A.J Canton
|
|-
| 2019
| Obsession
| Sonny
|
|-
| rowspan=4| 2024
| Lights Out
|Max Bomer
|
|-
| The Supremes At Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
|James Henry
|
|-
|Long Gone Heroes
|Moreao
|
|-
| The Silent Hour
| Mason Lynch
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |
|New Jersey's Finest
|Steve Sugar
| rowspan="2" |Pre-production
|-
|10-13
|Dave Harris
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!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
|-
|rowspan="3"| 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"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 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
|-
|rowspan="2"| 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"
|-
| 2025
| High Potential
| Arthur Ellis
| Season 2, Recurring
|}
Music videos
- 1994: "Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack
- 1996: "Wu Wear" by RZA Feat. Method Man & Cappadonna
- 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
- 2004: "Just Lose It" by Eminem