He could've become a multi-platinum rapper, but instead Mekhi Phifer chose to get his bona fides as an actor with such choice projects as 8 Mile, O, a regular gig on "ER," and his latest, Dawn of the Dead. Gettin' down with luscious leading ladies like Beyonce and Jessica Alba is just a bonus.
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"IT WAS MISCONSTRUED AS ARROGANCE IN THE BEGINNING," explains Mekhi Phifer in that smooth, husky voice that's magnetized moviegoers in films like 8 Mile and O. "He came in confident and never let anybody tell him what to do. You never know what he's going to say. He has a history, a past--he comes from a certain environment. He's always going to be about his business. He's gonna talk slick, and he loves the ladies."
Phifer's talking about Greg Pratt, the cocky-but-good-hearted, from-the-streets doctor he's been playing on NBC's drama powerhouse ER for two seasons now. But Phifer, 28, who grew up across the street from housing projects in Harlem, could just as well be talking about himself.
At 19, without any acting experience, Phifer walked into an open audition for the lead role in Spike Lee's gritty 1995 crime tale Clockers armed only with an impromptu headshot from a nearby Woolworth's photo booth. He beat out thousands and held his own in the film against a fearsome Harvey Keitel. And acting wasn't even on Phifer's radar--at the time, he was working construction, preparing to study electrical engineering in college and cultivating a nascent rap career.
But Clockers changed all that. Soon Phifer was working Hollywood hard--like he's worked everything else in his life--scoring roles in risky, well-received projects like MTV's Carmen: A Hip-Hopera with Beyoncé Knowles and O, a controversial, private-school-set contemporization of Othello. When along came 8 Mile, Eminem's mostly autobiographical tale of his trailer-home Detroit upbringing, Phifer's combination of sly charisma and drawn-from-experience toughness made him the obvious choice to play Eminem's best bud; Phifer even wrote all of his character's rhymes in the film.
In between shifts on ER, Phifer's managed to knock out another two big-screen stints, in this month's remake of George A. Romero's zombie fright classic Dawn of the Dead and in the forthcoming, twisty indie noir Slow Burn with Ray Liotta and Enterprise's slinky Vulcan Jolene Blalock. But Phifer, who's also started his own production company, refuses to get caught up in any Hollywood nonsense. "I like to dress really clean and easy," he says, lounging around comfortably in sweatpants and a "wifebeater" in one of the swank-but-tiny rooms at trendy Beverly Hills boutique hotel Maison 140. "I'm not really a big jewelry person. I invest my money in real estate, things like that."
Oh, and the ladies? No sweat.
ANDRE CHAUTARD: You've gotten down onscreen with Beyoncé Knowles, Jessica Alba, Julia Stiles, Joy Bryant. Do you ever get flustered?
MEKHI PHIFER: Naw, I never get nervous doing love scenes. Never. It's a woman, you know! [Laughs]
Q: And you probably have a love scene with Jolene Blalock in Slow Burn?
A: Yeah. We have a few, actually.
Q: Are they sexy to film? Most actors moan about how it's so technical and choreographed.
A: It can be sexy. I'm very respectful and professional, and I make the other person feel comfortable. But between the time that they yell "action" and "cut," it can be a very intimate moment.
Q: Nice work if you can get it. You've never formally studied acting. Does it just come naturally to you?
A: Natural would be like I would never have had to learn. I went to school, but it was my own school--self-taught. I had to focus. I became so intrigued by the business, I just wanted to learn so much. Natural got me in the door.
Q: You grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood. When you were younger, didn't you deal crack for a short time?
A: Yeah. Truth be told, it was really for about one day. When you're out there on the street, you're young, impressionable. I was like 16. You see an opportunity to make a couple of dollars because you like girls, you want to take your girlfriend to the movies, to eat, but it seems like you're in such a bleak situation and money is scarce. Nobody around you is making any real money. I remember being out there one day hustling in Harlem and I thought, "What am I doing?" I saw my clientele: down-and-out, depressed, disease-ridden people. You're on the corner where you can get shot, robbed, arrested--and I never made no money!
You get fooled. You get caught up in the perpetual cycle of poverty, basically, and God bless that day--I just never did it again. I said, "I can't do this, I gotta be legitimate. I gotta make my money the smart way." And it's terrible because all the guys that I grew up with have been locked up numerous times or been killed or shot in the head. It was a fortunate thing for me to experience that and grow up in that environment--it gave me a certain strength.
Q: You've never met your father, right?
A: Not yet.
Q: Do you know anything about him?
A: I don't know if he's alive, I don't know anything.
Q: Did you miss having a father growing up?
A: No. It's interesting that people ask that. It's like missing somebody you never knew. I have a big family anyway, lots of uncles, all kinds of men in my family. I'm appreciative that I'm here, and there's no regrets.
Q: While making 8 Mile you and Eminem hung out a lot. Do you still keep in touch?
A: We're both very busy, but we spoke maybe about two weeks ago. It's all love, man. We both love hip-hop, we are both from the ghetto, to certain extents, and we've worked our way out of that situation. He's a regular dude who likes to do regular stuff. He has a work ethic and a great love for his daughter and his friends.
Q: So, did you grow up in that 8 Mile world of rap battles?
A: Yeah, oh yeah. Born and raised in that. You had to, out there walking through the streets. And I was damn good.
Q: Well, obviously, because around the time you landed Clockers, you also won a nationwide rap contest.
A: I recorded one song called "I Think I'm Losin' It," which never came out. We flew out to Los Angeles, went to Warner Bros. I performed that one song in front of Benny Medina [who guided the careers of Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez] and he said, "OK, you got a record deal." I only had that one song, so we had to go back into the studio, and then I got Clockers.
Q: Why did you stop rapping?
A: My passions shifted. I didn't feel like being on a tour bus, running around with entourages, constantly having to be on stage, in hotels, doing radio promotions at 6 in the morning. I didn't have that sort of energy. I didn't feel that. I liked what was going on with the movie and television world. I think if you do it right, there's a lot more money to make, a lot less stress and headache.
Q: A lot of your on-screen relationships have been interracial--Jessica Alba in Honey, Julia Stiles in O, Ming-Na on ER. Have you dated interracially in real life?
A: I've dated interracially a lot. I grew up in Harlem, so I've dated Latins, Dominican, Guyanese, Cuban, black, white...I got de-virginized by a Puerto Rican. I'm like the United Colors of Benetton. [Laughs] I believe whoever's right for whoever. Who the hell can judge that?
Q: You say you're "happily divorced" [from actress Malinda Williams]. Are you dating now?
A: Yes, I am dating, yes. Yeah, I am, man. [Laughs]
Q: One woman in particular?
A: No, not really. I do have someone I am focusing on more than others, but I'm not ready to get married or anything like that. That's not going to be for a couple of years. I'm not ready to focus all my attention on another person like that, unless it's my son. Listen, man, I'm a soccer dad at heart. I want five kids and I want to get married. I want to coach Little League.
Q: Finally, what does your tattoo say?
A: It says R.I.S.E. Harlem. R.I.S.E. stands for Robbin' Is So Easy, but not in the sense you think. It's like, you can be successful and it can all be taken away from you. Stay focused because you can get robbed so easy.
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