Mekhi Phifer Was Worried About Eminem's Lack Of Acting Experience While Making 8 Mile

Highlights

• Mekhi Phifer revealed Eminem's dedication to acting and his preliminary doubts about his skill to perform in 8 Mile.
• Phifer and Eminem built a powerful friendship all the way through the five months of filming.
• Phifer means that Eminem's difficult experience with director Curtis Hanson could also be a reason why he hasn't returned to acting since 8 Mile.

Despite already being a music trade legend, Eminem catapulted his stardom into the stratosphere when his semi-autobiographical 2002 film, 8 Mile, was released. While 8 Mile's $242.Nine million field place of work income best account for a portion of how the acclaimed rapper made his net worth, it's certainly one of his most liked achievements.

But to claim that the success of the Curtis Hanson-directed movie lies squarely on Eminem's shoulders can be a fallacy. Sure, Eminem's performance and tune (together with the showcased 'Lose Yourself') have been not anything brief of outstanding. But Mekhi Phifer's supporting performance as Eminem's easiest good friend, Future, is electrifying. During an interview with Vulture, Phifer, who was well-known for his position in Spike Lee's 1995 film Clockers, published the truth about his relationship with 8 Mile and Eminem, as well as if the 2 tolerated each different all through production...

What Mekhi Phifer Said About Working With Eminem On 8 Mile

The supporting solid of 8 Mile was nothing brief of stacked with the likes of Michael Shannon, Brittany Murphy, Chloe Greenfield, and Kim Basinger. However, for many, it was Mekhi Pfifer would in reality stole the display. During an interview with Vulture, Phifer printed what it was in reality love to paintings with Eminem in the Curtis Hanson film.

Phifer revealed that he was an enormous fan of Eminem's song prior to signing directly to play his easiest buddy, Future, within the 2002 movie. While he had observed Eminem in his brief scene in 2001's The Wash -- Eminem's debut efficiency on screen -- Phifer without a doubt identified him more with track. This, of course, wasn't an obscure opinion. However, Phifer briefly launched just how committed Eminem (Marshall Mathers) was to acting.

"I didn’t know how serious he was as far as being an actor. Back then, they were doing a lot of those rappers-in-movies movies — and they weren’t good. So when it initially came up, it was like, 'Come on, you can’t be serious; I’m going to play a doctor!' But I loved the music. I always thought Eminem was a genius with his artistry and his wordplay. I had all his music, but I didn’t think it was going to translate into doing a good job in the film. And I was very wrong."

Mekhi Phifer realized simply how dedicated Eminem in reality was thru more than a few conversations the pair had.

"I could tell that he was serious about it. And he was nervous. He was a fan of my work, and, obviously, this is what I do, and so he really sought advice. Just him asking questions and conversing, it felt like, 'Yo, this guy really wants to do a good job.'"

While Phifer was, not at all a stranger to acting when he shot 8 Mile, he was a foreigner within the realm of rap tune. This is the place he leaned at the late-rapper Proof as well as Eminem for steering. But director Curtis Hanson, who also didn't come from the arena of rap/hip-hop, additionally aided Phifer in his journey due to the month of rehearsals he afforded them. It was throughout this time that Mekhi Phifer and Eminem constructed a friendship.

"We spent five months together, Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and he was great. So Em had three trailers: his trailer, a trailer that was a studio, and then he had a workout trailer. Between takes, Em would go to the studio, and sometimes we’d go in there and fool around with him. But he’s very, very focused about his music and he had a lot to do with the soundtrack."

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But Eminem wasn't closed off while making his tune. In reality, he invited Phifer to participate in it.

"I remember one day, we were all on the set shooting, it was two or three in the morning, and Em walks up, like, 'Mekhi, I want you to come to the studio. I wrote this song and I put your name in it.' And I said, 'Oh, word? Okay, let’s go.' So we all piled into the studio and he played it. It was raw, wasn’t mixed or anything, he had just written it and recorded it. And when he said my name, everybody busted up, like, 'Yo, this is crazy!' But I didn’t know it was going to have that much impact and be the workout anthem of the world. For him to put me in that song, it’s a testament to how close we were. We hung out a lot; we played basketball at his house, we swam at his house. So it really made me feel good for him to think of me in that way."

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During his interview with Vulture, Mehki Phifer claimed that one of the the reason why Eminem hasn't returned to acting (together with rumored 8 Mile sequels) is due to the difficult time he had with director Curtis Hanson on set.

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"I think he had a great experience with 8 Mile, but collaborating with Curtis was tough for him, just creative differences when it came to the music and things like that. When you are a rapper, a writer, and a producer, you’re used to being in charge of your destiny, whereas film and television is too much of a collaborative effort. You have to deal with the writers, the directors, the producers, the other actors, locations, timelines. I’ve noticed that a lot of musicians who are really in control of their career will collaborate — but on their terms."

What Mehki Phifer Really Thinks About 8 Mile

One of the questions Vulture journalist Derek Lawrence requested Mehki Phifer all over their interview was what he thinks about most when looking back on 8 Mile. The ER actor claimed that the first thing he thinks about is how he almost grew to become it down. Why? Because he didn't assume Eminem could lift a film on his own.

"The only thing I’ve ever seen [Eminem] do before 8 Mile was that movie The Wash with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre — and it wasn’t anybody’s finest hour. So I thought it was just a joke. But then they told me that Curtis Hanson was directing. I was a huge fan, I thought he was a great storyteller, and he had just done L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys. They wouldn’t release the script, so I had to go to Curtis’s office to read it, and I loved it. So that got me excited, and then they flew me to Detroit so that Eminem and I could hang, since we play best friends in the movie."

It's transparent that Mehki Phifer is extremely thankful for his experience making 8 Mile. Not just because he loved the function, the route, the folk of Detroit (where it was filmed), but also as a result of of the relationship he constructed with Eminem.

"It was one of the best experiences."

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