Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi Phifer Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: December 29, 1974

Age: 49 years old

Birth Place: New York City, New York

Mekhi Phifer proved himself as an actor many times over with iconic roles in everything from "8 Mile" (2002) to the medical drama "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009). Born in Harlem, New York in 1974, Phifer's single-parent household often struggled when it came to money. Though there were many young men in his orbit with aspirations to become hip-hop artists, Phifer rarely saw this path lead others to success, so he followed his instincts and pursued his drive to become an actor instead. He landed his first role as Ronald 'Strike' Dunham in Spike Lee's "Clockers" (1995), and it proved to be something of a breakthrough. He appeared in the comedy "High School High" (1996) the following year, which he quickly followed with roles in "Soul Food" (1997) and the horror hit "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998). Mekhi earned major acclaim for his starring performance in "O" (2001), a modern take on Shakespeare's "Othello," and only enjoyed increased notoriety for his performance as Mitch, a character based on real life '80s drug kingpin Rich Porter in the crime drama "Paid in Full" (2002). Phifer next played rapper David 'Future' Porter in the Eminem biopic "8 Mile" the same year he joined the cast of the beloved medical drama "ER." He would stay with the series until it finally wrapped in 2008, though he would also continue to appear in feature films, memorably starring opposite then up-and-coming Jessica Alba in the dance movie "Honey" (2003). In 2004, Phifer appeared alongside Ving Rames and Sarah Polley in Zach Snyder's well-received remake of the classic zombie movie "Dawn of the Dead" (2004). The next year, he landed a recurring role on the massively acclaimed comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO, 2000-). Phifer went on to join the cast of the crime drama series "Lie to Me" (Fox, 2009-2011), and later appeared in the popular YA movie "Divergent" (2014) in addition to playing the recurring role of Dre Collins on the third season of the acclaimed political drama "House of Cards" (Showtime, 2012-16). He appeared in a number of under-the-radar films during this time including "Chocolate City: Vegas" (2017), "A Talent for Trouble" (2018), "Canal Street" (2018), and "Obsession" (2019). In 2019, Phifer appeared with Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul, and Lizzy Caplan in the thriller "Truth Be Told" (2019).

Credits

Lights Out

Actor
Max Bomer
Movie
2024

GMA3: What You Need to Know

Guest
Show
2020

Truth Be ToldStream

Actor
Markus Killebrew
Series
2019

ObsessionStream

Actor
Movie
2019

The Bobby Brown StoryStream

Actor
Tommy Brown
Miniseries
2018
100%

Canal Street

Actor
Prosecutor A.J. Canton
Movie
2018

FrequencyStream

Actor
Lieutenant Satch Reyna
Series
2016
77%

Match GameStream

Guest
Game Show
2016

Secret City

Actor
Brent Moreton
Show
2016

Secret City (Audio Descriptor)

Actor
Brent Moreton
Show
2016

Roots

Actor
Jerusalem
Show
2016

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Actor
Max
Movie
2016

Pandemic

Actor
Gunner
Movie
2016

Chocolate City Vegas Strip

Actor
Best Valentine
Movie
2016

The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Actor
Max
Movie
2015

The Rich Eisen Show

Guest
Show
2014

Hollywood Today Live

Guest
Show
2014

Beat Bobby FlayStream

Guest
Reality
2014

Chicago P.D.Stream

Guest Star
Joe Baker
Series
2014

DivergentStream

Actor
Max
Movie
2014
41%

A Day Late and a Dollar ShortStream

Actor
Lewis
Movie
2014

The Queen Latifah Show

Guest
Talk
2013

The Arsenio Hall Show

Guest
Show
2013

The Real

Guest
Talk
2013

Hollywood Game Night

Guest
Game Show
2013

The Suspect

Actor
The Suspect
Movie
2013

The Love Section

Actor
James Johnson
Movie
2013

8 Mile

Actor
David 'future' Porter
Show
2012

Larry King NowStream

Guest
Talk
2012

House of LiesStream

Guest Star
Dre
Series
2012

The Chew

Guest
Talk
2011

Torchwood: Miracle Day

Actor
Rex Matheson
Show
2011

Big Morning Buzz Live

Guest
Show
2011

Last Man Standing

Actor
Jeremy Davis
Movie
2011

Flypaper

Actor
Darrien
Movie
2011

Business as Usual: The Exploitation of Hip Hop

Executive Producer
Movie
2011

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

White CollarStream

Guest Star
Series
2009
96%

Lie to MeStream

Actor
FBI Agent Ben Reynolds
Series
2009

Lie to MeStream

Guest Star
FBI Agent Ben Reynolds
Series
2009

A Day in the Life

Actor
King Khi
Movie
2009

The Bonnie Hunt Show

Guest
Talk
2008

The Wendy Williams Show

Guest
Talk
2008

Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above

Actor
Dr. Terry
Movie
2008

Chelsea Lately

Guest
Talk
2007

This ChristmasStream

Actor
Gerald
Movie
2007
55%

This ChristmasStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2007
55%

PsychStream

Guest Star
Series
2006
89%

Puff, Puff, Pass

Actor
Big Daddy
Movie
2006

Puff, Puff, Pass

Director
Movie
2006

Puff, Puff, Pass

Producer
Movie
2006

Slow BurnStream

Actor
Isaac Duparde
Movie
2005
9%

The MC: Why We Do It

Narrator
Movie
2005

Tavis Smiley

Guest
Talk
2004

Dawn of the DeadStream

Actor
Andre
Movie
2004
76%

Honey

Actor
Chaz
Movie
2003

Last Call With Carson Daly

Guest
Talk
2002

8 MileStream

Actor
Future
Movie
2002
75%

Paid in FullStream

Actor
Mitch
Movie
2002
53%

The Other Brother

Actor
Martin
Movie
2002

Impostor

Actor
Cale
Movie
2001

Carmen: A Hip Hopera

Actor
Hill
Movie
2001

Brian's SongStream

Actor
Gale Sayers
Movie
2001

OStream

Actor
Odin James
Movie
2001
65%

Curb Your EnthusiasmStream

Guest Star
Omar Jones
Series
2000
92%

106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live

Actor
Show
2000

Entertainment Studios.com

Guest
Show
2000

ShaftStream

Actor
Trey Howard
Movie
2000
67%

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

A Lesson Before Dying

Actor
Jefferson
Movie
1999

Uninvited Guest

Actor
Silk
Movie
1999

I Still Know What You Did Last SummerStream

Actor
Tyrell
Movie
1998
7%

Hell's Kitchen N.Y.C.

Actor
Johnny Miles
Movie
1998

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

Soul FoodStream

Actor
Lem
Movie
1997
82%

High School High

Actor
Griff McReynolds
Movie
1996

The Tuskegee Airmen

Actor
Lewis Johns
Movie
1995

ClockersStream

Actor
Ronald "Strike" Dunham
Movie
1995
73%

The Tuskegee Airman

Actor
Lewis Johns
Movie
1995

ERStream

Actor
Dr. Gregory Pratt
Series
1994

ERStream

Guest Star
Dr. Gregory Pratt
Series
1994

Entertainers: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1994

New York UndercoverStream

Guest Star
Series
1994

Homicide: Life on the Street

Guest Star
Series
1993
91%

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutMekhi Phifer