Frequency

Season 1 M-Net (*101) 20:30 Sci-fi

Mekhi Phifer is playing detective Satch DeLeon in new sci-fi series Frequency (2016-current), but did you know that he shot to fame playing a criminal? He was drug dealer Strike in Spike Lee’s 1995 film Clockers. And while he’s also played hunky Dr Greg Pratt on medical drama ER (1994-2009), he’s best known as rapper Future in real-life rapper Eminem’s 2002 movie 8 Mile. Which isn’t far from his original life goals…

The 42-year-old grew up in New 1

York’s famous suburb of Harlem and wanted to become a rapper. He signed with Warner Brothers Records and was featured on Beyoncé’s single Stop That! in 2011.

He has two sons – Omikaye (17) 2

with his actress ex-wife Malinda Williams and Mekhi Jr (9) with his exfiancée Onanong Souratha – and says that “with my first son, I cut his umbilical cord and everything, so I’m a handson father, to say the least”. Mekhi has been married to TV executive Reshelet Barnes since 2013 and they have no plans on kids as yet.

Despite owning shoe stores around 3

California, Mekhi isn’t that great at being a businessman. He filed for bankruptcy in 2014, owing the taxman $1.2 million (R17.5 million)!

Mekhi says that working on ER was 4

“a great experience”, but he’s not a fan of hospitals. “I don’t like them [hospitals]. People are sick and sometimes it can be depressing,” he says. “There are people going through a lot of pain in there. It has that funny smell.”

And while he’s finding it harder 5

to stay in shape as the years pass by, the actor says that “once or twice a week I try to do some kind of boxing. I’m hitting the bags and jumping rope – all that stuff”.