Mekhi Phifer as one of People's Sexiest Men
Fans of ER knew the show was going off the air last year at this time but were in for a shock when longtime regular Mekhi Phifer, as Dr. Pratt, died after complications from an auto accident. Now fans of Phifer can see him in a different kind of role on Fox’s newest hit Lie To Me where he has to try to keep Tim Roth’s Dr. Lightman in line during complicated crime investigations. Phifer participated in a press call recently and I was on the line with fellow journalists to ask Phifer a few questions about his new role.
Jim Halterman: I wanted to know what are the similarities and differences between your role on Lie to Me than Gregg Pratt on ER, which you were so good in.
Mekhi Phifer: I really appreciate that. The only similarity is that they’re pretty strong characters. They’re kind of different and have different backgrounds and things of that nature. The difference would be that, the similarities would be that we’re saving lives but we’re doing it in different manners. Obviously, being able to carry a badge and a gun and having gone undercover and done other things in my life definitely adds more layers to this particular character that’s different than Dr. Gregg Pratt. So I’m having a lot of fun with that and unveiling all of those layers.
JH: As the season goes on, are we going to find out a lot more about your character and get more into the personal side of things?
MP: Yes, definitely, definitely. That’s what Shawn Ryan and all of us want to really delve into this character and see what makes him tick.
Phifer suited up for his role in Fox's LIE TO ME.
JH: Shawn Ryan did such a great job on The Shield and it’s such an edgy show; are we going to see some of that kind of lead in to Lie to Me? Is it going to be a little edgier and darker this year?
MP: Yes, I think so. It’s already kind of going there. The networks are different so they have a different approach. Obviously, with The Shield – that was on FX so they had a little bit more leeway as far as the dialogue was concerned and even the content and what they showed the viewers, which is a great thing. But we will push it to the limit as far as FOX will let us go; that’s for damn sure.
Question: Could you tell us a little bit about how you first became involved in the series and maybe your audition process for the role of Ben Reynolds?
MP: Fortunately, they knew my work and loved my work in [so] I didn’t have to audition. It was an offer to come and do the last two episodes of the first season and just see how it all worked out, and see how we gelled as a cast and it worked out great. So once hiatus came, I was officially then asked to join the cast.
Question: What were some of the challenges, acting-wise, you found maybe first stepping into the role, and how do you see your character grow and develop going into season two, would you say?
MP: It’s always hard, especially in the last two episodes I did for season one because the character’s not scoped out yet at all. You kind of got to make it up as you go in the beginning, which is kind of like so everything is “walking on egg shells” as far as the character choices that you’re making because those character choices affect the next episode and the episode after that. I just knew that I wanted to portray someone who could go in many different directions, so I tried to bring a three-dimensional side to it. In season two we have a little bit more clarity on the way we want things to go. You will get into his past as an FBI agent and even doing undercover work and how that undercover work affected him, and affected his personal life and the things that he’s had to deal with. So we will definitely get into him a lot more this season.
Question: How important is it, do you think, as an actor to kind of have a role behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera?
MP: If that’s what you want to do; nothing says that you have to do that. Do you know what I’m saying? I guess it’s a personal preference. Me, personally, I like to be able to tell the stories that I want to tell and do the things that I want to do. It takes a little bit more work, but that’s what the production side is. You’re still going to have to sell somebody who’s going to give you the money on the idea and everything like that. But it does give you a little bit more control if you’re thinking in that creative process; it gives you more control to tell the story you want to tell rather than sort of just reading a script that somebody else wrote and says, “Yes, please, you can hire me for this job.” So it’s a little bit more hands-on, a little bit more closer to the heart.
Question: Your character is kind of like the “cops and robbers” type and everyone else is more scientific. Talk about the push-pull between the characters – what the friction is like.
MP: You know, Tim Roth’s character and all the other guys at The Lightman Group, you’re right – they are a bunch of scientists and they may want to do something that’s kind of out of the limits of the law. I’m kind of the liaison between them and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We do bump heads a lot because I don’t understand, necessarily, at least right now – I’m starting to learn as the series goes on, as the season goes on – their methods of how much their methods do help solve cases. But I have my own method. I come from, I’ve interrogated people; I come from an undercover background, so it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks so we definitely butt heads, but ultimately we come together for the betterment of these cases.
Question: In terms of your breadth of work, you seem to be drawn to dramas more than comedy. Why would you think that is?
MP: I can do comedy but it’s a certain type. I’m not a physical comedy guy. I’m not Will Ferrell – there’s just this crazy and get naked and run through the thing screaming. That’s just not my style; my style is drama or – I’m not slapstick. It’s just a different style for me. Even when I was on Curb Your Enthusiasm I wasn’t this “over-the-top” crazy character. It was still kind of play it straight but it was funny because the situation was funny. That’s kind of how I portrayed things and I like dramas; I like to be able to – because in dramas you can laugh and joke and still be serious, be real. I like the realism of them.
Question: You are now on a show that has a multi-cultural cast just like ER did. Can you talk about the importance of having a multi-cultural cast and what that brings to television?
MP: I just think it opens up the viewership a little bit, I think. 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.
Lie To Me airs Mondays on Fox at 9/8c.
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the television world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
