SEATTLE - He's one of the stars of the Divergent film series, which has made more than a half billion dollars at the box office. But the career of Mekhi Phifer has "diverged" far from that dystopian future.
His breakout role was in the 1995 Spike Lee film, Clockers. Later, he not only starred in Eminem's 8 Mile, but his name became part of the lyrics from that film's hit single, Lose Yourself.
"It was a great testament to our friendship," Phifer said during a a recent visit to Seattle. "It was great, but it can also get on your nerves, as well. Every time I would walk into a nightclub or a lounge - anywhere that they're playing music - it's like the deejay automatically threw that song on. But it was a testament to show the camaraderie that we all had doing that film."
He went on to join another family, playing Dr. Greg Pratt on the hit medical drama ER for 6 seasons.
Phifer said, "We'd spend 12 hours together, and still didn't have enough of each other. So we'd go out to eat or we'd go and take trips."
When his character met an untimely end, Phifer had to to part from that tight-knit circle of friends.
"It was a sad thing because like, wow, we're not going to see you every day," Phifer said.
Now that the Divergent series is entering its home stretch, this constantly evolving actor prepares to say goodbye once again.
"That's our life. We work, and we do our thing, and now it's time to move on to the next."
