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Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes

Birthday: 1962-07-31 | Place of Birth: Orlando, Florida, USA

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. He has starred in numerous action-adventures, thrillers, and dramatic feature films and is well-known for his role as Blade in the Blade trilogy. Snipes formed a production company titled Amen-Ra Films in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes has been training in martial arts since age twelve, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained as a student of Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu. At age 23, Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. Later that year, he appeared on the trendy 1980's TV show Miami Vice as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode 'Streetwise' (first aired December 5, 1986). In 1987, he appeared as Michael Jackson's nemesis in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video "Bad" (he is seen in only the long version of the video) and the feature film Streets of Gold. That same year, Snipes was also considered for the role of Geordi La Forge in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Snipes' performance in the music video "Bad" caught the eye of director Spike Lee. Snipes turned down a small role in Lee's Do the Right Thing for the larger part of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League, beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Henderson in Mo' Better Blues and as the lead in the interracial romantic drama Jungle Fever. Another important role for Snipes was the powerful drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City, which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. Another film in which his character was involved in drugs was the somber movie Sugar Hill. Although Snipes is more known for his roles in action films like Passenger 57, Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone), Money Train, U.S. Marshals (a sequel of The Fugitive) and Rising Sun (with Sean Connery), he has also had success in comedies like White Men Can't Jump, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar where he played a drag queen together with Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo. Snipes has also been critically acclaimed for his roles in dramas like The Waterdance and Disappearing Acts. Snipes has been married twice; first, to April Snipes from 1985-1990 with whom he has a son, Jelani Asar Snipes, born in 1988. Jelani had a cameo role in Snipes' 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. In 2003, Snipes wed painter Nakyung 'Nikki' Park, who is the mother of his four youngest children: son Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes; daughter Iset Jua-T Snipes (born July 31, 2001); son Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes (born May 26, 2004); and son Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born March 26, 2007). Snipes spends a lot of time in Park's home country of South Korea, which he calls his "second home."

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2021
True Story

as    Carlton

2021
Coming 2 America

as    General Izzi

2019
Dolemite Is My Name

as    D’Urville Martin

2017
Armed Response

as    Isaac

2017
The Recall

as    The Hunter

2015
The Player

as    Mr. Johnson

2015
Chi-Raq

as    Sean 'Cyclops' Andrews

2014
The Expendables 3

as    Doc

2012
Gallowwalkers

as    Aman

2011
Game of Death

as    Agent Marcus

2010
Brooklyn's Finest

as    Casanova 'Caz' Phillips

2008
The Art of War II: Betrayal

as    Neil Shaw

2007
The Contractor

as    James Dial

2006
Hard Luck

as    Lucky

2006
The Detonator

as    Sonni Griffith

2005
7 Seconds

as    Jack Tuliver

2005
Chaos

as    Lorenz / Jason York

2005
The Marksman

as    Painter

2004
Unstoppable

as    Dean Cage

2004
Blade: Trinity

as    Eric Brooks / Blade

2002
Zig Zag

as    Dave Fletcher

2002
Blade II

as    Eric Brooks / Blade

2002
Liberty Stands Still

as    Joe

2002
Undisputed

as    Monroe Hutchen

2000
Disappearing Acts

as    Franklin Swift

1999
Futuresport

as    Obike Fixx

1998
Blade

as    Eric Brooks / Blade

1998
U.S. Marshals

as    Mark Sheridan