State University of New York at New Paltz. Photo: crz4mets2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_den_Berg_Hall_-_SUNY_New_Paltz.JPG)
Career
Gallery of Mekhi Phifer
NBC. Photo: CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NBC_Tower,_Chicago.jpg)
State University of New York at New Paltz. Photo: crz4mets2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_den_Berg_Hall_-_SUNY_New_Paltz.JPG)
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor, rapper, producer, and director. He made his film debut in Spike Lee's Clockers, later appeared in 8 Mile and portrayed Dr. Gregory Pratt on ER. His work also includes television films, independent cinema, music, and film production.
Background
Mekhi Thira Phifer was born on December 29, 1974, in Harlem, New York City. He was raised in a single-parent household by his mother, Rhoda Phifer, an African American high-school teacher, and has said that he never met his father.
His mother emphasized academic achievement while also encouraging artistic interests. As a child, Phifer performed in community productions and participated in freestyle rap and talent events. He also held after-school jobs while completing his secondary education.
Education
Phifer graduated from Lincoln Square Auxiliary Services High School in New York in 1994. The school provided secondary and support education in Manhattan, where the city's community arts and performance institutions formed part of the wider cultural setting in which he began acting.
He was accepted into the electrical-engineering program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. SUNY New Paltz is a public university in New York's State University system with a liberal-arts and professional educational tradition. His college studies were interrupted when he obtained the leading role in Spike Lee's Clockers.
Phifer began acting professionally after answering an open casting call for Spike Lee's Clockers. He was selected from more than a thousand applicants to play Ronald “Strike” Dunham, a young drug dealer involved in a murder investigation. The 1995 film established him as a screen actor and led to roles in The Tuskegee Airmen, High School High, Soul Food, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and other films of the 1990s.
He expanded his television work through appearances in Homicide: Life on the Street, New York Undercover, and the HBO film A Lesson Before Dying, in which he played Jefferson opposite Don Cheadle. He also appeared in the television musical Carmen: A Hip Hopera, performing his own rap material, and portrayed Gale Sayers in Brian's Song.
Phifer's early-2000s film work included O, Shaft, Impostor, Paid in Full, and 8 Mile, in which he played David “Future” Porter opposite Eminem. He subsequently appeared in Honey and Dawn of the Dead. In 2002 he joined NBC's medical drama ER as Dr. Gregory Pratt, a role he played for six seasons until the character's death in 2008.
His later screen work included the television series Torchwood: Miracle Day, House of Lies, Truth Be Told, and High Potential, as well as films such as This Christmas and Flypaper. Phifer also moved into production and directing, making his directorial debut with the 2006 satirical comedy Puff, Puff, Pass and serving as a producer or executive producer on several film and television projects. He has additionally been associated with Ki-Kel Entertainment and with ownership of Athlete's Foot athletic-shoe franchises.
Phifer made his feature-film debut as the lead character Ronald “Strike” Dunham in Spike Lee's Clockers (1995), earning positive critical attention for a demanding dramatic performance.
He became widely recognized for playing David “Future” Porter in 8 Mile (2002), a commercially successful film centered on an aspiring rapper's struggle to establish himself.
He played Dr. Gregory Pratt on NBC's ER from 2002 to 2008, becoming a regular member of one of American television's longest-running medical dramas.
Phifer broadened his work in entertainment by directing Puff, Puff, Pass and producing or executive-producing several film and television projects.
Works
album
The New York Related: The HF Project
(Rap album released by Phifer through Warner Bros. Records.)
(Television film in which Phifer played Lewis Johns.)
1995
TV series
Torchwood: Miracle Day
(British-American science-fiction television series in whi...)
2011
Views
Phifer has spoken about education, self-respect, and artistic versatility as important principles in his life. His career reflects an expressed interest in moving among acting, music, directing, and production rather than treating entertainment as a single discipline.
Personality
Phifer has described his mother as a strong influence who combined high academic expectations with support for artistic experimentation. In interviews, he has emphasized the importance of education, self-respect, and the freedom to pursue more than one form of creative work.
Quotes from others about the person
Phifer has credited his mother with teaching him reading, writing, arithmetic, self-love, and self-pride, and with encouraging both his academic work and his artistic interests.
Interests
Entrepreneurship and film production.
Music & Bands
Phifer has an established interest in hip-hop and rap. He recorded the album New York Related: The HF Project and performed rap material in Carmen: A Hip Hopera.
Connections
Phifer is the son of Rhoda Phifer, a teacher who also worked in dance and choreography. He was formerly married to actress Malinda Williams, with whom he has a son, Omikaye Phifer. He also has a son, Mekhi Phifer Jr., with Oni Souratha.
On March 30, 2013, Phifer married Reshelet Barnes in Beverly Hills, California.
Mother:
Rhoda Phifer
Teacher, dancer, and choreographer who raised Phifer in a single-parent household.
Wife:
Malinda Williams
Actress who was formerly married to Phifer; they have a son, Omikaye Phifer.
Partner:
Oni Souratha
Mother of Phifer's son Mekhi Phifer Jr.
Wife:
Reshelet Barnes
Phifer married Barnes in Beverly Hills on March 30, 2013.
