Mike Epps remains one of the busiest comedic actors currently working in Hollywood. After appearing in more than 10 feature films in 2018 and 2019, the Next Friday and How High star returned to the small screen via the Netflix original sitcom The Upshaws.
Created by and co-starring Wanda Sykes, The Upshaws follows a blue-collar Black family as they deal with the daily grind in a harsh economic climate in Indiana. As for the big-screen, Epps has also completed The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks and has been announced to star in Last Friday, both of which hope to measure up to the best movies of his career
Soul Men (2008) 6.4
Mike Epps starred in five films released in 2008; the first belongs to the musical comedy Soul Men starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac as a pair of grudge-holding singers who reunite to honor their fallen bandleader.
When their former leader passes away, Louis and Floyd agree to put their issues aside, come together and perform a touching send-off performance. Hilarity and hijinks ensue as the two men hit the road for a cross-country trip to the famed Apollo Theater. Epps plays Floyd's nephew, Duane.
Hancock (2008) 6.4
Although he has a thankless role as an uncredited criminal, Epps did appear in the Will Smith superhero movie Hancock. Smith stars as the troubled titular hero who must overcome his dire alcoholism to be the best he can be.
Upon rescuing Mary (Charlize Theron) one day, she tries to repay Hancock by helping him remold his public image to exude a higher level of confidence. Through Mary's tutelage, Hancock restores glory to his name and wipes his reputation as the town laughing stock.
Faster (2010) 6.4
One year before joining the Fast & Furious franchise, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action-road-thriller Faster. At the beginning of the film, Driver (Johnson) obtains a 1970 muscle car, a firearm, and names to kill. The person who gives him these items is a man named Roy Grone, played by Epps.
Once the Driver completes a series of assassinations that appear to be unrelated, he is doggedly pursued by a rogue cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and a ruthless hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).
Bessie (2015) 6.7
Queen Latifah won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her towering portrayal of legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO movie Bessie.
In a dramatic departure for Epps, he played the role of Richard Morgan in the film, one of Bessie's most intimate lovers who later became her life partner. Directed by Dee Rees, the moving biopic charts Smith's rise in the 1920s and 1930s while facing an abusive childhood, poverty, racial prejudice, and the like.
Something New (2006) 6.7
Interracial romance is celebrated in Something New, a rom-com in which Black accountant Kenya McQueen (Sanaa Lathan) goes on a blind date with the charming white gardener, Brian Kelly (Simon Baker).
Despite their wildly disparate lifestyles and Kenya's initial reluctance, the two hit it off and begin a meaningful romance. The free-wheeling Brian helps Kenya loosen up and enjoy herself more, while Kenya teaches Brian about her own culture. Epps plays Walter in the film, the husband of Kenya's friend who disapproves of her dating decisions.
Troop Zero (2019) 6.9
Epps starred in six films released in 2019, three of which rank among his 10 best films of all time, per IMDb. In the 1970s coming-of-age dramedy Troop Zero, a plucky misfit named Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace) goes to great lengths to achieve her ultimate dream.
Upon hearing that the winner of a local talent show will get to be recorded on NASA's Golden Record, Christmas forms a grassroots troop of Birdie Scouts to enter the competition. Epps plays Dwayne Champaign, the father of one of Christmas's recruits.
Talk To Me (2007) 7.3
One of Epps' earliest dramatic turns came in the 2007 biopic Talk To Me, a true story in which the personal and professional life of radio host Ralph "Petey" Greene (Don Cheadle) in 1960s Washington D.C. is explored in detail.
While serving a federal prison sentence, Greene found an unlikely role as a mega-popular radio personality after talking his way on to the air. With a gift of gab and willingness to be refreshingly honest, Greene soon gains more listeners than the local deejays. Epps plays Milo Hughes, one of Greene's fellow inmates who helps him find his voice.
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (2019) 7.3
Joel Tabot's pensive independent drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco stars Jimmie Fails as himself, an alienated and disenfranchised Black man trying to make sense of his gentrified home city. Epps plays Bobby, a neighborhood acquaintance of Jimmie's father.
Despite working hard in a nursing home, there isn't much hope for upward mobility in Jimmie and his best friend Mont's (Jonathan Majors) life. When their mutual friend is shot to death, the two men must decide how to proceed in a city no longer worth calling home.
Dolemite Is My Name (2019) 7.3
In one of the few times playing a real-life character, Epps portrayed actor Jimmy Lynch in the star-studded comedic biopic Dolemite is My Name. As Rudy Ray Moore's (Eddie Murphy) right-hand man and close confidant, Lynch appeared in the original Dolemite movie in 1975.
Directed by Craig Brewer, the Netflix original chronicles the making of Dolemite as Moore goes to great lengths to raise the money independently and produce the film from the ground up.
The Hangover (2009) 7.7
Mike Epps played the role of Black Doug in the landmark 2009 smash-hit comedy The Hangover, the highest-rated and highest-grossing movie of his career to date. The film grossed nearly half a billion dollars and spawned two sequels, including Black Doug's return in The Hangover Part III.
The Hangover follows a trio of drunken men in a desperate search for their missing friend, Doug (Justin Bartha), who is scheduled to be married in Las Vegas the following day. With a few clues to go by, the inebriated trio retraces the steps of their wild bachelor party the night before and makes harrowing discoveries along the way.