EXCLUSIVE: Mekhi Phifer is set to star opposite John Barrowman and Eve Myles in the upcoming fourth season of sci-fi drama Torchwood, which Starz is co-producing with the BBC for a run on both networks. Phifer joins original Torchwood stars Barrowman, who plays time agent/con man Captain Jack Harkness, and Myles, who plays ex-police officer Gwen Cooper. The Lie to Me alum will play the third lead, Rex Matheson, a CIA agent, a fast-tracked high-flyer with a lethal sense of humor who starts to feel his mortality when his life is put in danger. In addition to his co-starring turn on Fox’s Lie to Me last season, Phifer, repped by WME and Brookside, was a regular on NBC’s ER. He also recently signed on for the Lifetime action film Close Quarters. Torchwood recently cast Crash actress Arlene Tur in a recurring role.





Don’t go kissing no man.
lmao, this comment is perfect.
I was thinking the same thing. He was great in ER and Carmen, so I think he will do well.
This is getting interesting. But where’s Gareth?
Killed off in the last series.
Great addition to the cast. Can’t wait. Hard to believe the scrub from Lone Star turned this role down before Phifer signed.
FTR, that third season that Ianto’s fate is depicted in is called “Children of Earth.”
Congrats to Mekhi. Solid actor.
Can’t wait for this!
Who?
Close, but not the Doctor.
Nice.I’ve always liked him.Thank god they didn’t go with Chad Michael Murray.
He’s working on his musical career and other acting projects…his character was killed off during season 3.
Dreadful show, but perhaps getting away from Wales will help.
Dreadful show. At least they’ve left Wales.
No Ianto, No Torchwood! Ever!
Yay! This cast is really looking strong!
Wow–how far Mekhi has fallen…Does anyone know how many people passed on this offer before Mekhi took the offer? I heard 6 guys passed on actual offers…anyone know who they were?
“Wow–how far Mekhi has fallen”
Fallen? This guy career has been nothing but B-movies and TV shows, what exactly has he fallen from?
Great! Torchwood is an awesome program and Mekhi is brilliant!
This role will expose Mekhi to a new, dedicated fan base globally. Torchwood is beloved by millions of sci-fi fans around the world.
Torchwood had a dedicated fan base. Since it became serious drama and killed Ianto Jones, believe me it’s not the same anymore….
It hasn’t been loved since they killed off all the good characters!
It hasn’t been ON since they killed off all the supporting characters.
I heard it was the other way around, that they passed on people looking to do the role.
Looking forward to seeing Mekhi in this!
So I guess that kills any chance there might have been they’d cast a woman of color for the analyst role. I understand a slew of white actors already passed on the job, but who would’ve guessed this is where it would end up? Mekhi is solid, but also soft – hasn’t been fit in YEARS. The bm/ww race dynamic of lusting for one another is so typical, was hoping for something different. I’m pretty positive this is what will happen.
I suppose it’ll be refreshing though, to see Captain Jack hit on a guy that’s off-type, but let’s hope Rex has a great attitude. It’d be disappointing if they changed the character’s culture and personality to something less tolerant just because the actor is now black. The actor should be interchangeable outside his ability to play the role, and some basic parameters of attractiveness.
Who are you assuming they would pair Phifer’s character with? The Gwen Cooper character that Myles plays is married, very happily, and was very pregnant last time we saw her in the series–and meanwhile lusts after Barrowman’s Captain Jack. I don’t know what nationality Arlene Tur’s character is planned to be, but the actress herself is Cuban. It’s really that black man/Latina woman dynamic that Hollywood has been handing us lately. There’ve been women of color throughout the show’s history, most notably Freema Agyeman reprised her Doctor Who character, Dr. Martha Jones, on a few episodes, joining the team for a few missions. Maybe she’ll stop by again…
Well, Gwen has cheated on her husband before, remember the office affair?
Fallen? In case you didn’t notice TORCHWOOD is a big deal cable-wise. It’s an international hit and was the highest rated show ever on BBC America (if memory serves). Now its on a high profile US premium channel which is aggressively trying to compete with HBO, Showtime and AMC on originals and will therefore promote the fuck out of this show next year. And of course DVD/Blu-ray will be big. So how is this bad for Mekhi exactly?
International hit? hahahhahaaaaaaa
Mekhi was amazing in ER. Can’t wait for this!
So will he be making out with John Barrowman? Will he do any nudity or show his ass?
Torchwood just isn’t Torchwood without Owen, Tosh and Ianto. I didn’t enjoy Children of Earth as much as the rest because they killed Owen and Tosh. Also, because the mood was so negative.
I hope they can make it better without 60% of their main characters. I’m still not sure if I’ll enjoy it, but I think their doing the right thing with getting new people.
I still say no Owen and Ianto = no Torchwood. :'(
he was great in lie to me.
but torchwood was great in season 2 as it was connected to dr who with martha jones appearing. dont make fun of wales their amense i come from there.
Mekhi is an awesome actor & individual! I admire him so much I named my son, whom is now 6 after him. Keep up the amazing work!! Muah!!