EXCLUSIVE: “It was just one of those moments that you knew something big was happening, even before the world knew. We were all just so lucky to be part of it.”

8 Mile co-star Mekhi Phifer has detailed how he witnessed Eminem write Lose Yourself at 3am in a trailer.

The Actor and 8 Mile co-star recalled a late-night encounter with Eminem, who still rocks a Blackberry phone, and revealed that the rapper wrote his Academy Award-winning track Lose Yourself in the early hours of the morning, while on the movie’s set in Detroit.

“We were in between shots, around 2 or 3 in the morning,” Phifer exclusively told Daily Express US at the Bodywell and Mend’s 2025 Critics Choice and Grammy Fire Relief Lounge Presented By GBK Brand Bar.

“Eminem invited me to his studio trailer, and he said, ‘Yo, come check out this new song I wrote, and I put your name in it.’”

The actor went on to describe how the rapper played the song before it had been mixed or mastered.

Mikhi Phifer detailed how the track was made. (Image: Daily Express // Zachary Westerman)

“It was incredible. We all went crazy. Who knew that this song would go on to win an Oscar?” the actor recalled.

At the time, Eminem had three separate trailers on the film lot of 8 Mile, one for his gym, one for himself, and one that he used as a studio.

Phifer confirmed that he was one of the first people to ever hear the track, even before others in Eminem’s inner circle, including long-time manager Paul Rosenberg.

“I was even before those guys,” the actor added.

Lose Yourself, which was featured on the 8 Mile soundtrack, went on to become one of Eminem’s most successful songs.

It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003.

Phifer stated: “It was just one of those moments that you knew something big was happening, even before the world knew. We were all just so lucky to be part of it.”

The actor also spoke fondly of his time on set in Detroit, where the cast and crew spent five to six months shooting 8 Mile.

“It was a really special time, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it,” the actor ended the interview with.