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Mike Epps

Mike Epps has generated an extraordinary amount of buzz among his peers and within the industry for being one of the funniest comic actors to emerge into the Hollywood scene as of late.

Epps recently came off of a huge box-office hit with his reprising role as LJ in Screen Gems' futuristic action franchise Resident Evil: Extinction, which was number one at the box office for two consecutive weeks in September 2007. Epps also has a small but dramatic role alongside Don Cheadle in Talk to Me for Focus Features.

After these two big studio movies, Epps can next be seen in two anticipated indie films: The Grand, with Woody Harrelson and Cheryl Hines, which is set for a Spring 2008 release; and Next Day Air, starring opposite Mos Def for a Summer 2008 theatrical release.

When Epps isn't filming, he is touring the country and performing in his comedy act, Mike Epps on the Edge Tour, to sold-out theaters and arenas across the country. Last year, Mike's one-hour comedy special, Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior, aired on HBO and was one of the network's top-rated one-hour specials of the year, followed by its subsequent DVD release that same month. Later that fall, Mike transitioned from his HBO comedy special to being the new host of HBO's Def Comedy Jam, which aired on September 10, 2006.

Since 2000, Epps' comedic film roles have exploded. In March 2002, Epps was seen starring opposite Ice Cube in New Line Cinema's All About the Benjamins. Epps also reprised his role as Day-Day in Friday After Next, the third installment of the Friday series. In 2003, Epps appeared in the Paramount Pictures comedy, The Fighting Temptations, alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles, and in 2004, he was in Screen Gems' blockbuster sequel Resident Evil: Apocalypse, starring Milla Jovovich.

In September 2005, Mike played the comic relief as a loud-mouthed garbage man in Fox Searchlight's Roll Bounce, a film set in the late 1970s about the roller skating lifestyle that also starred Bow Wow, Chi McBride and Nick Cannon. Mike then went on to play a pivotal role in the Focus Features romantic comedy Something New, starring Sanaa Lathan as a black career woman who unexpectedly finds love with a white working-class man, played by Simon Baker. Earlier that same year, Epps starred in two classic remakes—first Epps was seen in Columbia Pictures' well received Guess Who, starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac, which was released in March 2005. He then starred in Paramount Pictures' remake of The Honeymooners, in which he played comedic legend Ed Norton, alongside Cedric the Entertainer as Ralph Kramden.

A native of Indiana who has steadily climbed his way up the stand-up comedy ranks for the last seven years, Epps' comedic talent was recognized by a national audience in 1995 when he appeared on the Def Comedy Jam tour and appeared on HBO's Def Comedy Jam broadcasts. Epps moved to Los Angeles after his successful performance at the 1999 Laffapalooza festival in Atlanta. During his performance at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, Epps caught the attention of Ice Cube. This led to him being cast in his feature film debut, 2000's hit comedy Next Friday. Epps has also appeared in Bait, with Jamie Foxx; How High, with Method Man and Redman; and was the voice of Sonny in Dr. Dolittle 2.

Epps currently resides in Los Angeles.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2008.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Mike Epps Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayNovember 18, 1970 (53)
SignScorpio
BirthplaceIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Height6' 1½" (1m87)  How tall is Mike Epps compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
How High
Fifty Shades of Black
Friday After Next
Roll Bounce
The Thomas Crown Affair
Term Life
Next Friday
Resident Evil: Extinction
Nina
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