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Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Born: Dec 12, 1975 in New York, New York
Occupation: Actor, Director,
Active: '90s-2000s
Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
Career Highlights: Clockers, Soul Food, A Lesson Before Dying
First Major Screen Credit: Clockers (1995)
22 Videos for Mekhi Phifer
ER: Season 14 (2007) 8 Mile (2002) A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
Slow Burn (2007) ER: Season 09 (2002) A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
This Christmas (2007) Brian's Song (2001) Uninvited Guest (1999)
ER: Season 13 (2006) Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) O (2001) Soul Food (1997)
With All Deliberate Speed (2004) The Other Brother (2001) High School High (1996)
ER: Season 10 (2003) Shaft (2000) Clockers (1995)
Honey (2003)
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Biography:

Although he had almost no prior acting experience, Mekhi Phifer made a highly auspicious screen debut as Strike, a 19-year-old petty drug dealer in Spike Lee's gritty urban drama Clockers (1995). A veteran of the Harlem streets, Phifer got his break when he attended an open casting call with only photo booth pictures of himself to give to interviewers.

Displaying a rare charisma and intensity that was perfect for the role of Lee's ambitious protagonist, the novice actor beat the considerable odds against him and out-acted nearly 1,000 other applicants for the part. Following the success surrounding his Clockers debut, Phifer appeared in The Tuskegee Airmen, a powerful drama starring Laurence Fishburne that first aired on the HBO cable network.

In 1997, Phifer made another strong impression playing the volatile but good-hearted Lem in George Tillman Jr.'s comedy drama Soul Food. The following year, he took part in the rage of teen horror films as one of the stars of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and further established himself as one of Hollywood's more photogenic up-and-comers by starring alongside Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett in O (2000), a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's {+Othello} that saw Phifer as a high-school basketball star betrayed by his jealous best friend. Though a well-known performer, Phifer didn't have a bona fide hit until 2002 when he played Future alongside hip-hop star Eminem in the urban drama 8 Mile.

That same year, Phifer found success on the small screen as well, joining the cast of NBC's long-running hit medical series ER. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide.