Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and had a co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. He was a regular on the Fox crime show Lie to Me in the role of Ben Reynolds, before season three, and also starred as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth29 December 1974
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
It's always a pleasure when you get to work with people that you actually really like.
I know a lot of people who are weak, who are in a perpetual cycle of poverty and being locked up. There are guys from my neighborhood who are in jail or who are dead. It does take a certain strength to know your environment and say, 'I can grow beyond it.'
I don't really like hospitals that much. People are sick; sometimes it can be depressing. There's people going through a lot of pain in there. It has that funny smell.
Working with great actors - being part of something of that magnitude and not knowing the business and what the business entailed or any of that. I was so wet behind the ears, I didn't know anything. It's, like, you're watching movies, and then here you are in front of those people and working with them. It was pretty interesting.
I like to make sure that I'm believable. If I don't believe me, then there's a lot of people that don't believe me, but if I can believe that I'm doing it, then I know the audience will, too.
I have my own method [of acting]. I come from, I've interrogated people; I come from an undercover background, so it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
The beauty of when you watch good television or films is that, yes, you may have a multi-cultural cast but those roles could be anybody - they could be white, they could be black. To show the world that we have more in common than we have different with each other is to me the ultimate goal of all of that. It does help unite in people's mind the thought that people are the same. Yes, there's going to be cultural differences, but for the most part, we are all in the same gang as human beings.
I grew up in a rough environment. You want to be strong and have your presence felt out there. That attitude reflects how people see you.
I've done 21 films in eight years, and I've said 'No' more times than I've done films.
I've dated interracially a lot. I grew up in Harlem, so I've dated Latins, Dominican, Guyanese, Cuban, black, white.
There's no question that I'm African-American. OK? I'm a black man. We're not going to escape that.
I tend to play more true-to-life characters in real situations.
When break dancing was out, I break danced. When rapping was the thing, I freestyled rap on the street and battled and all that kind of stuff.
Eating right has made the biggest difference in my body.