Mekhi Phifer Talks New ‘Lights Out’ Film, ‘8 Mile,’ ‘ER’ & More with Rich Eisen | Full Interview

and lights out is available now in theaters on digital and demand our radio audience is back with our Roku Channel audience we just saw a clip of lights out which is again as I mentioned available on De On Demand on digital and right now in theaters near you one of the Stars McKai feifer is here great cast with Frank gillo Jamie King and DOL Mo Rooney right here on the rich eyes in show good to see you sir oh man good to see you always did you jump into this fight scene to to you know sort of investigate what would uh to know about this character no but this character oh this character well you know um you know I've always been a fight fan you know MMA boxing um even when UFC was in its infancy um before they had even weight classes when a 600lb guy could fight a guy 185 lbs you know um people could be in there with their shoes on you know it was a whole thing um they were the rules were were still sketchy yeah um but so I didn't really have to do a whole bunch of of research on the Underground aspect of it I get the underground aspect I get the betting aspect I get how people make their money the odds and all of that kind of stuff it's it's pretty straightforward um but what I do with each character that I portray is I just try to um just find what motivates them what what makes them interesting and what humanizes them um I don't play good guys or bad guys I I play human beings that have made certain choices and have had certain experiences that have shaped their lives you know so in this movie We're Frank and I are not necessarily good guys but we're kind of like anti-heroes if you will we're we're we're guys that um are not necessarily doing good but we're better than the worst guys and and you know you want to uh empathize with their journey and and and uh hopefully uh see them um have a positive outcome yeah and again like said Frank's been here before and I'm thr that you're here too Frank is my guy and um and lights out is available now in theaters on digital and demand so you're from Harlem from Harlem okay so are you Nicks Yankees okay what are like what what's your what's your through line here New York Sports what are you Nick I had I fell off the wagon after 90s early 2000 it was tough that was a tough road to a tough torch to carry y um the Knicks are doing well now they doing doing they're doing very well they made playoffs last year I'm liking their trajectory okay so I'm you know um so I like I love the now it's not that I went to somebody else I just it was just tough being a Nick fan it's not like I went to the Lakers or went to the C it wasn't that I just was like come on guys we're New York supposed to be the greatest city in the world and you know our team suck um what's going on um so um but um I've always been a Yankees um back in the late 80s early 990s I was more Mets the bad boys of you know baseball um strawberry good strawberry I mean you couldn't beat those guys I mean those guys were tough fernandz yeah exactly they and if one got into a fight they all came out of the Dugout and it was it was Mayhem and and then Gary Carter is the Captain America of this whole thing exactly exactly um but you know I'm I'm I'm always a rooting for New York teams always right you know okay so I I root for the Giants you know I mean jets are tough you know the Giants are tough right I mean it's the Jets are a bridge too far for you I mean and you know the funny thing is tunnel too far the Jets it's a tough sure they they give you a hard way to go um but you know um I love watching The Hard Knocks you know uh training camps I love seeing the preseason and even the midseason cuz I really get to kind of get into who these players are even the players that don't have the big names and you know people that are trying to come up and and so you wind up kind of rooting for them because you feel like you get to know them yeah sure and but they can be disappointing but you know hopefully we'll see you know a brighter day okay m for here in the rich is show that's a Die Hard Celtic fan over there tell them tell them who you saw in the Bahamas on Friday oh man I saw Tatum we were hanging out man we hanging out on on in the Bahamas I was there with my wife and uh bumped into him at a at a at a club in the hotel okay and um and we chopped it up I rooted for him I said yo man I'm rooting for you in the uh in the allstar game and um you know and uh life was good so he left his defense in the Bahamas are you saying I think everybody left their defense um you know it's it's look I love the the games where it's really challenging it's it's interesting because when I was growing up the the East versus West was a real that was a serious when when Kobe was there even before Kobe I mean it was when when you and Jordan I mean Dominique Wilkins I mean Spud Web whatever um it was that was a real rivalry you know um Isaiah Thomas I mean that was that was real people wanted to win and well everybody wanted to beat Isaiah oh I know I mean but you know hey man and and that's what I loved about it you know and and people you you you couldn't just go through the paint in scho and make a layup and now it's like a Three-Point Contest slash let him make a layup nobody touches them um everybody's walking what is that with then why why what's this four and five steps nonsense like you know I you know growing up play I played a lot of ball you know being in New Yorker so I was always at the Rucker I was a part of many teams the yes tournaments Douglas tournaments um all of the contest in school everything and two two steps that's it I don't I don't get the three four steps I I just don't get it the double dribbles when you you you come off the pivot that's a walk it's called a Euro Step actually we're not in Europe we are in the United States of America Dam it and I wanted to stay that way who did you see play at Rucker who did you see oh man everybody uh Rafer um uh you Skip to My um Escalade I mean all of them the professor all of those cats man I mean um all of the dudes that um uh that played great street ball raer made it out obviously um but man that was some of the most dynamic ball ball player what was that like I mean what was that like man it was awesome man and and and I and I knew the guys that sort of ran the uh the the um the the Rucker so we would come with our own little chairs you know that you you know that you get from uh you know uh sporting good store whatever and they would let us just sit right there on the on the ground and you know with our chairs and and then you had to my man on the mic who always gives people nicknames and the people climbing they' be on the fence you know just stuck on the fence watching the games on the roofs of the school um it was it was there's nothing like the Rucker there's nothing like the Rucker I mean nothing like it you know maai fer here on the Rich Eisen show it's time let you want to do some celebrity true or false here we go let's do it always uh we're very proud on the rich eyes and show of our production value hit it celebrity true or false FSE you can't handle the truth there we go all right maai fer celebrity true or false first up true or false you had never taken an acting class before landing the starring roll in clockers with [ __ ] Ley and you went to the audition on aark only with a small passport photo instead of a head shot that is absolutely un equivocally true really absolutely true what happened um well I was going to college for electrical engineering and um I was big math guy you know the calculus the whole thing um and um cuz while I was in I went to Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in high school and while I was in high school I went to Columbia University as well to take college credits and um I went to an open casting call with my cousin who I talked about with you earlier my cousin Sly Fifer uhhuh and um we we didn't have they said you had to bring a picture cuz what happened was Spike Lee was doing this open casting call he was looking for the new lead in his new movie but he wanted an unknown so he did all of these open casting calls in like Philly and LA and New York it was in the paper on the on the radio and they said you had to bring in a picture like a 8 by10 like a normal head shot I didn't have any head shots you know what I know about had all I had was family photos uh so um the only photo we could get and the only thing that we could afford I think between me and Sly we had $4 between us so we went to Woolworth to get the passport photos and it cost $3 and you got three pictures and um we put the $3 in the machine and I sat in there took the picture and then he ran in took the next picture and then we took the last picture together and so these little photos and um we brought them down to the uh where they were open holding the open casting call and I filled out a data sheet and I sat there and then um one of the casting Associates asked me to put sign my name and then long story short they they asked me to come down to the audition which I did they didn't call me back for 4 weeks I I went about my business they called me back they said come back and then when I came back Spike was in the room oh boy and he said okay and Spike is playing he's Spike is cool you know spike is cool so um but he still Spike he still Spike and so and he didn't give me much he was like okay let me see you do it again so I was nervous as hell I didn't have any water or chapstick or gum um you know I was wet behind the ears and I'd never auditioned for anything before and um then I did the scene he said okay this is good come back on Monday okay and then I did that and then he said okay that was good come back on two on Wednesday he just kept giving me different scenes and then all of a sudden I had to read with Isaiah Washington and uh do improvisations and um then he said okay that's good come back again then I had to read with Harvey Cel doing improvisations and the funny thing is I didn't even know who the hell Harvey Cel was I wasn't intimidated at all I was like who's this old dude you know um at this point I didn't know he was I hadn't seen U you know Mean Streets or any of that stuff I hadn't seen that um I was in a movie buff then um and so so I just did it I was like okay you got me reading with this guy you know and then ultimately I know and it's Harvey catel I mean he's you know now I see his body at work and it's like what were you talking about um but I wasn't in the film business and um and then um lo and behold um I came back the last time this is like my eighth audition and uh I come to 375 greinwich where you know which is owned by I think Robert Dao and Jane Rosenthal and I come up there and Spike is downstairs he has a limo downstairs but he's talking to Jane Rosenthal who I didn't know either at the time who was Robert Deniro's producing partner and U they I think they owned Tribeca together the the film festival yeah yeah exactly that's what I'm saying so um so um I'm thinking I'm going upstairs and he's like no don't go upstairs you know waai and he brings me in the car and um and I'm like you know what's going on I'm ready to AUD ition and uh he's like no I just want to let you know you got the role you know and uh he gave me and I was like it was like you know mind blowing and then now you're in a movie with kitel and Toro and spikes direc you that Roy Lindo I forgot about him I love him wow what a story uh next up Makai Fifer true or false you almost turned down the role of future in 8 Mile because you were just cast in ER I did I did you turn it down or you I oh I listen to my agents I turned it down and then they were like no you're not turning this down because I was due to stard drr I was really looking for was already ER at that point was already a mega show and and um I was joining at the end of season 8 the last couple of episodes of season 8 and um uh I really wanted to play a doctor and er was had won all the gold Golden Globes the and this and that it was and um and and 9/11 had just happened so nobody you know people were scared to fly as everybody was you know I'm a New Yorker I saw what happened to the towers you know so um they said look it's Curtis hon who I did know his work LA Confidential and wonder boys and all of that great great um great director rest in peace um they flew me out to Detroit and uh I met with Eminem and um we spent a few days together and chopped it up what was that like it was great man it was great we hit it off I mean immediately and um I saw how serious he was the script was I couldn't they didn't give me the script I had to read the script in Curtis's office because they were being so Hush Hush about it I loved it and and but it wasn't what you see on screen but I I knew I could bring some a Nuance to it and something you know different a certain energy a certain spirit so um then ER John Wells who was you know King John Wells they he said you know you know what go do the movie and as soon as you finish the movie you come and start then that green light W the movie and then a week later I was on the set of ER you went from 8 Mile to ER to ER within a week within a week it's crazy but I'm glad I did it I mean I mean you know Eminem threw my name in the song and one an Oscar I mean it was it's it it's one of the most popular downloaded songs ever well that was my next one is it is it true that he completely surprised you by including your name L yourself absolutely that is true how did you learn that it you were in the song we were shooting one day Eminem had three trailers he had his trailer for you know him to sleep and stuff like that then he had a studio trailer that because he was doing his album and the soundtrack at the same time and he had a and he had a gym trailer so we would go in between takes and work out or whatever and around 2: in the morning we were shooting one night and uh he came back to the set he said yo Maki after this take I want to I want to take you to the studio I want I put your name in the song and um so we all the whole crew we all went to the um to the trailer and he played the song and it was raw it wasn't mastered it wasn't mixed yet and we got to the part and there's no movie there's no ma F and everybody erupted and um but I didn't know it was going to be listen I didn't know 8 Mile was going to be 8 Mile sure you know um you know you never know and I didn't know the song was going to you know be as impactful well I mean Brockman was with me uh Chris was with me when I was uh um the honorary captain of U the Michigan Wolverines one year 2016 it was 2016 and Jim Harbaugh the coach of the time let us be with the team the entire the entire weekend and they had a choice I for what the other choice of the film was the night before the game uh but that that lost immediately to 8 Mile he showed 8 Mile to the team the night before they destroyed Central Florida and the team was just locked inz I mean cuz it is it is Iconic and it is um you know something that will in fact live forever but so were you just like wait a minute was that my name like when you heard yeah I mean he did preempt me you know so it wasn't like hey I just want you to hear this song anden listen to this but he did say I put your name in the song you know I hope that's cool and I was like hell yeah it's cool you know because back in back then you know mem was crushing people when you know he was killing people if you if he put your name in the song usually it's not good I mean in your career you know he he smack you around with his lyrics um so I was very uh uh proud of that and uh very appreciative of of you know him being of him making me a part of of that and in a bigger way um than uh was initially you know it was going to be so and it is true the final rap scene was totally ad lived right my stuff was totally ad your stuff too my stuff on the stage all of the all of the stuff that I said cuz that wasn't in the script okay so all of the stuff all of the all of the um all of my instructions to the rappers all of my uh uh audience participation stuff all of that was all adlib you know they wrote their Rhymes because they they had to have the Rhymes written um because you know for continuity you know so you can change the camera angles and things like that okay I see um but but my stuff was was totally ad liid so all of that all DJ spin that and all of that kind of stuff all of that was just and the reason and the reason I say DJ spinat is because I forgot the guy's name so I didn't call him by a name that's why I say DJ spin that you know um because I forgot the guy's name and so so after we got one or two textes I couldn't go I couldn't start saying his name you know so it just had to be DJ spin that you know what was his name do you remember I don't remember his name but he's a good DJ he's a he's a very good DJ Detroit you know uh shouts to Detroit and I'm I'm sure he's a favorite in Detroit I'm pretty sure the DJ was in a movie called the salt and sea with Val Kilmer he might have been so that's just a little side to that so could go we could Google him Google I'll know his name all right last one for you and then I'll let you go maai Fifer is it true F true or false fans still approach you on the street about how your ER character Greg Pratt's death um affected them and you suggested to ER producers prior to the show final season about your character yeah see um yes um people still to this day um I was right before the uh strike I was shooting the movie in bogatar columia wow and uh this is this is another great destination but it was it was wild um but yeah people still talk about it they still were affected by it um my mother you know I was in in Los Angeles on the west coast my mother was in the east coast and when that episode aired my mother called me because you know obviously she saw the show before I saw it yes sir obviously I knew what happened um and she called me crying like somebody died in the family you know like with the and I said M what's what's the matter and she was she was like Dr Brad died you know and so she was very it was impactful and um but what I was due to do what I was due to start I was getting ready to start Broadway and I knew that season 15 was going to be the last season M and um I'd rather go out with a bang than um than just sort of just leave the hospital you know it was it was a great episode with Steve bashim and um and it was it was it was impactful you know and um and so people still talk about it to this day and and I appreciate everybody um in there uh viewership so the way you made your mom stop crying like Mom I'm going to Broadway Mom I'm on the phone with you oh I'm on the phone that's number one I didn't I'm here you know um but no but she she she was very proud because of she she loved seeing me on television every Thursday you know so she she taped every episode and she just and you couldn't talk to her while the show was on I love that you know so you know and that's what I love about television it's like you know you can be in somebody's home every week I know that and you say hello to my mother right now I think she's watching on the on her mom ma says hi uh maai from Harlem on Instagram lights out available in theaters on digital in demand let's do this on the regular if you're please Rich you know I got nothing but love for you man thank you right back at you always and all you guys man you guys are awesome so very happy to be here okay TJ hit it TJ spin that get a minute and a half before you go years ago probably like 2004 I was asked to do a USC student film by a guy named Mike m actually hold it let's do this cuz we got to take a break we'll come back maai fer still here here he and uh TJ chopping it up figuratively and literally about having the same we have the same bar Benny blades blades I mean see there there's a quote growing up yeah if my line ain't right my mind ain't right I got to have my line right to have my mind right understood yes okay absolutely you know and he had you know you got to look right when you come on the Rich eyes and I trust me I know well I wish I had a line we can in here don't worry you're doing just fine though appr I needed that believe me you're doing just fine um and uh you know TJ used to be a producer on Punk oh he did and he was a producer on a particular episode one you you on on my episode I was a producer on that was fun I hadn't I thought about it in a while till yesterday we did so we got you coming out the gym right that was no actually I was at paintball paintball okay I was I was with the um the the the crew in cast of VR we used to go we used to go as a as a unit in paintball and they CAU me um with the punk um like they pretend somebody broke my window to my truck and and I really love this truck because I did all kind of modifications to it uh and and the guy they made it seem like my they he broke into my truck and then um then they tried to then the cops came and they tried to make it seem like I hadn't paid this ticket this thousand ticket and I was like what are you talking about I paid that ticket because I what it was I got caught speeding coming from Vegas wow I was going over 100 miles an hour you went deep on him so I got a $1,000 ticket so I had to go back to bosto to pay the ticket which I did I went back to bosto paid the ticket everything was love so I had cleared that up so they brought it back up and made it seem like I didn't pay the ticket damn and they were being extremely disrespectful um it's in their verbage it's called they right they wow and and they were naming movies that I had been in but I didn't catch it cuz I was getting pissed off this they like yeah you you went about eight miles ago and um yo your ticket's not paid in full you know it was the whole thing ni do you know who the guy was who the the robber was no he was just who was that it was Daniel TSH really the the the now comedian I his I think that was his first time on camera if I'm not mistaken he funny yeah so0 to0 also had Whitney Cummings in it if you know some very funny comedians Whitney Whitney was really good at getting us getting a line that MTV wanted for the promo so she came up to you at one point and said cuz he stole your wallet and she's like do you need to borrow money and you looked at was like I'm rich baby a lot of money on this show what's the hell is wrong with you I'm these tcks are coming in steady okay up on YouTube I would have post I'm so glad ma stuck around I'm at the rich eyes and show desk furnished by Granger with supplies and solutions for every industry Granger has the right product for you call click granger.com or just stop by I'm just thrilled that uh you came by we we can fill a whole hour talking about we go on and on but I'll be back this is this movie is just one of four that I have coming out this year so I'll be back damn including the one that you shot in bogatar that one including the one that shot in did somebody come up to you and talk ER with you in Columbia is that what you absolutely people talk about it and and people people have come up to me from Argentina um all over and when I was in London uh when I was in Cape Town Africa um they talk to me about ER paid in full 8 Mile soul food this Christmas it goes on and on um you know how it is I mean when you when you create a body of work um you know um it's it's a black I've been doing this for three decades now so you know it's it's a blessing to be able to have the body of work and and to be recognized for it so I'm very humbled and and I feel blessed goodness Woolworth had the passport photo I love that story I love that story that you probably might not have performed as well as you did to get that role if you knew who haror kitel was you know what I mean like sometimes if it was robbert daero instead of which Robert dairo is actually supposed to play that role but and that's why M SC he was supposed to direct clockers but he opted to direct Casino so while we were shooting clockers they were shooting casino and Robert Deno was supposed to play Harvey's role and Martin was supposed to direct the movie and now so Martin wound up executive producing the movie and [ __ ] Ley directed it and that's how that happened and then and then again it's just like that Sports sometimes a team doesn't know what it should know and they wind up winning the championship absolutely it's kind of like it's kmid everybody check out lights out available now in theaters on digital and On Demand we're back to finish up this show on the Roku Channeler has there ever been a conversation about an eight mile sequel ever people have talked about it um I know they were talking about maybe doing a TV show um you know I'm I'm I'm a little bit of a purist when when something is is is classic and I'm not just saying it CU I'm in it but I mean when something is that good it's really hard to replicate or bring that same energy I think it was the right place the right time the right movie The Right cast and that's that's hard to uh mimic or you know I mean I couldn't be in it obviously as you know I couldn't be a rapper you know could probably be somebody's dad or something but um but yeah you know I create another movie it doesn't have to be 8 m 2 it can just be another movie with with you know somebody else's Journey you know so no n n miles not happening n miles no it doesn't doesn't translate the same I don't know I we kind of saw a little bit of the sequel when uh Eminem showed up on the road with the Lions you know flipping flipping the bird at the fans San Francisco that was great okay well we'll put that one to bed thanks for coming on maai F no you guys are awesome let's do this again see everybody on Wednesday catch the rich eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 1200 to 3 Eastern for free

Channel: The Rich Eisen Show

Views: 5,653

Keywords: Rich Eisen, Rich Eisen Show, sports, NFL, football, college football, CFP, NBA, basketball, pop culture, Roku, NFL Network, TJ Jefferson, Del Tufo, Super Bowl, sports talk, talk show, Football, CFB, College Football, Baseball, NFL Draft, Mekhi Phifer, ER, 8 Mile, Eminem, Clockers, Spike Lee, Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Lights Out, Torchwood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dawn of the Dead, The Boy Is Mine, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Punk’d, Daniel Tosh, Ashton Kutcher

Id: jBdd1KD9F1s

Length: 26min 5sec (1565 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 21 2024