Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer (born December 29, 1974 in Harlem, New York) is an American actor. He has a starring role as Gregory Pratt on NBC's television program ER, and won season four of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. He has a recurring role in Curb Your Enthusiasm and specializes in playing himself in a variety of roles.
Phifer has a son with his former wife, actress Malinda Williams. He resides in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Since his acting debut as a drug dealer in Spike Lee’s film Clockers, Phifer has starred in O as Oden aka O, the TV movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera and as Gale Sayers in the remake of the TV movie Brian's Song.
In his regular role on the medical drama ER, Phifer portrays an arrogant intern whose over-confident tendency to do first and ask permission later agitates the already chaotic ER.
Born and raised in New York City, Phifer attended an open casting call there for director Lee’s Clockers as a narcotics dealer embroiled in a murder coverup. He followed that impact role with another in the comedy spoof feature High School High 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.
On television, Phifer’s credits include the movies The Tuskegee Airmen, Subway Stories and Brian's Song (as former Chicago Bear Sayers). 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 movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Phifer also guest-starred in the series Homicide: Life on the Street and New York Undercover. Likewise, he earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for another TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying, opposite Don Cheadle.
Among Phifer’s other big-screen credits are Soul Food, The Biography of Spud Webb, Starring Mekhi Phifer as Mekhi Phifer, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, Tears of a Clown, and the thriller An Uninvited Guest. He most recently appeared in The Impostor (with Gary Sinise, Madeline Stowe and Vincent D'Onofrio of NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent), as well as Paid in Full and director Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile, opposite Eminem, Brittany Murphy and Kim Basinger.
In addition, he appeared in the music video, "The Boy Is Mine", by Brandy and Keith Sweat's "Nobody."
Phifer is also the youngest owner of the Athletes Foot athletic shoe store franchise in California. He is the proprietor of six stores (two of the stores are up and running and four feature casting calls for up and coming actors).
Work for charity
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.
Trivia
- Mentioned in Eminem's song, "Lose Yourself".
Filmography
- Clockers (1995)
- High School High (1996)
- Soul Food (1997)
- I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
- A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
- Shaft (2000)
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
- O (2001)
- Brian's Song (2001)
- Paid in Full (2002)
- 8 Mile (2002)
- Honey (2003)
- Dawn of the Dead (2004)
- Slow Burn (2005)
- Puff Puff Pass (2006)
Television appearances
- Punk'd 2004, one episode
- Curb Your Enthusiasm, season 5
- ER 2002 - present
- Homicide: Life on the Street, seasons 4 & 5
Winners of the Celebrity Poker Showdown Championship Table
| Season | Winner | Runner- Up |
|---|---|---|
| First | Nicole Sullivan | David Cross |
| Second | Maura Tierney | Lauren Graham |
| Third | Seth Meyers | Dave Navarro |
| Fourth | Mekhi Phifer | Neil Patrick Harris |
| Fifth | Brad Garrett | Colin Quinn |
| Sixth | Kathy Najimy | Stephen Collins |
| Seventh | Steven Culp | Dule Hill |
| Eighth | Jason Alexander | Robin Tunney |