Mike Epps was first seen in the Episode: "Episode #5.9" of the HBO television series ‘Def Comedy Jam.’ He made his big-screen debut in the 1997 American drama film ‘Strays’ directed by Vin Diesel. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘Pimps Up, Ho's Down’ (1998), ‘Shelly Fisher’ (1999), ‘Next Friday’ (2000), ‘3 Strikes’ (2000), and ‘Bait’ (2000). In 2001, he voiced the character ‘Sonny’ in the 2001 American fantasy comedy film ‘Dr. Dolittle 2’ directed by Steve Carr. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success. The following year, he starred as ‘Reggie Wright’ in the American buddy action comedy film ‘All About the Benjamins’ directed by Kevin Bray. The film opened to a mixed reception and was a moderate financial success. That same year, he also appeared in the American stoner comedy film ’Friday After Next’ directed by Marcus Raboy. Despite receiving a negative response from critics, the film was a financial success. ’Friday After Next’ gained a cult status in the subsequent years.Â
In 2004, he starred as Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wade in the science fiction action horror film ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ directed by Alexander Witt. The film was heavily panned by critics but managed to come out as a box office success, grossing over $129.3 million against a budget of $45 million. In 2007, he reprised his role as Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wade in ‘Resident Evil: Extinction,’ the sequel to the 2004 film ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse.’ The film received a mixed response from critics and was a major financial success. In 2009, he appeared in the American comedy film ‘The Hangover’ directed by Todd Phillips. The film was a massive critical and box office success and grossed over $469.3 million on a budget of $35 million. He next appeared in films like ‘Ghetto Stories’ (2010), ‘Jumping the Broom’ (2011), ‘Mac & Devin Go to High School’ (2012), ‘The Hangover Part III’ (2013), ‘School Dance’ (2014), ‘Stealing Cars’ (2015), ‘Fifty Shades of Black’ (2016), ‘Meet the Blacks’ (2016), and ‘Where's the Money’ (2017).
In 2019, he starred as ‘Bobby’ in the American drama film ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ directed by Joe Talbot. The film saw its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and earned greatly positive reviews from critics. That same year, he also starred in the American biographical comedy film ‘Dolemite Is My Name’ which also earned praise from critics. Epps was last seen in the 2021 American comedy horror film ‘The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2’ directed by Deon Taylor. The film received negative reviews from critics.