Cast & creator
Mekhi Phifer
Best known for Law & Order, The Daily Show, The View
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.
Also known as: Mekhi Thira Phifer
54
film credits
34
television credits
84
1963–2026 · acting roles
6.3
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (88)
Showing 88 of 88 credits
Law & Order
Lyman Ross
1990
The Daily Show
Self
1996
The View
Self
1997
Chicago P.D.
Joe Baker
2014
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
2003
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Omar Jones
2000
Psych
Drake
2006
ER
Greg Pratt
1994
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
High Potential
Arthur Ellis
2024
White Collar
Kyle Collins
2009
Homicide: Life on the Street
Nathaniel Lee 'Junior Bunk' Mahoney
1993
Lie to Me
Ben Reynolds
2009
Beat Bobby Flay
Self
2013
Punk'd
Self
2003
Torchwood
Rex Matheson
2006
New York Undercover
Sekou
1994
House of Lies
Dre Collins
2012
Key & Peele
Cousin
2012
Match Game
Self - Panelist
2016
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Self
2004
Truth Be Told
Markus Killebrew
2019
Miss USA
Self - Judge
1963
Best Week Ever
2004
Love, Victor
Harold Brooks
2020
Hollywood Game Night
Self
2013
Dawn of the Dead
Andre
2004
Divergent
Max
2014
Insurgent
Max
2015
8 Mile
Future
2002
Allegiant
Max
2016
Celebrity Weakest Link
Self - Contestant
2025
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Tyrell
1998
Frequency
Satch Reyna
2016
Roots
Jerusalem
2016
Secret City
Ambassador Moreton
2016
Shaft
Trey Howard
2000
Honey
Chaz
2003
Flypaper
Darrien
2011
Lights Out
Max Bomer
2024Lights Out
Co-Executive Producer
2024
The Silent Hour
Mason Lynch
2024
Impostor
Cale
2001
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
James Henry
2024Hollow Moon
Captain Josh Briley
The Bobby Brown Story
Tommy Brown
2018
Long Gone Heroes
Moreao
2024Black Poker Stars Invitational
Self – Guest
2008Black Poker Stars Invitational
Self – Player
2008
Paid in Full
Mitch
2002
This Christmas
Gerald
2007
Clockers
Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
1995
Slow Burn
Isaac Duperde
2005
Pandemic
Gunner
2016
High School High
Griff McReynolds
1996
Obsession
Sonny
2019
The Tuskegee Airmen
Lewis Johns
1995
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Hill
2001
Puff, Puff, Pass
Big Daddy
2006Puff, Puff, Pass
Director
2006Puff, Puff, Pass
Producer
2006
O
Odin James
2001
Be Happy
Peter Mosley
2026
Subway Stories
Man in Hallway (segment "Fern's Heart of Darkness")
1997
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy
Peter Mosley
2026
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
2002
Chocolate City: Vegas Strip
Best Valentine
2016
A Day in the Life
King Khi
2009
Hell's Kitchen
Johnny Miles
1998
Soul Food
Lem
1997
Girl 6
Self (uncredited)
1996
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Lewis
2014
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
Maxwell Terry
2008Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
Production Artist
2008
Labyrinth
2025
Uninvited Guest
Silk
1999
A Lesson Before Dying
Jefferson
1999
A Talent For Trouble
Mekhi Phifer
2018
Last Man Standing
Jeremy Davis
2011
Brian's Song
Gale Sayers
2001
The Suspect
The Suspect
2013
Hav Plenty
Harold
1997
The Making of '8 Mile'
Self
2003Marx
Axel Marx
Canal Street
Prosecutor A.J. Canton
2019
The Other Brother
Martin
2002
The Love Section
James Johnson
2013