Wesley Snipes

WHY IS HE FAMOUS

With a phenomenal range of characters in more than 40 movies, Wesley Snipes quickly rose as one of the most promising actors in Hollywood. However, he won't be acting in too many films while serving three years in jail for not paying taxes.

Wesley Snipes Quote
" In the beginning, all I wanted to do was to be a singer and a dancer. That was my real groove, my real interest. When it came to doing films, my biggest goal was to do a commercial."


86 MAGNETISM

Nastassja Kinski dug him, even if fictitiously. If audiences could believe that this uber-babe went wild for him, then he must have the goods.

Add to that a muscular physique, a square-sculpted jaw and the power to draw millions of dollars, and you've got guaranteed chick appeal.

Will his jail time work against him. Some chicks dig the "bad boy type." Others, well, aren't into black and white stripped PJs.


83 SUCCESS

Acting students can reliably count on a best scenario sequence of events in their careers: graduate from acting school, land a few minor roles in theater, work as a waiter for a few years, score some commercial spots and gigs as TV extras, and, with some luck, become known in an acting circuit to get steady work in TV, theater or movies.

Wesley Snipes made a quantum leap, flying right past the creaky rungs of acting. From roles in off-Broadway plays and several commercials, he landed right into a big Hollywood movie starring Goldie Hawn (1986's Wildcats). All it took was a spotting by a shrewd talent scout, inspired by Wesley Snipes' performance in a competition.

As a thug in the Martin Scorsese-directed video for Michael Jackson's "Bad," Spike Lee saw Wesley Snipes as the ideal guy for his edgy, politically-charged projects. The two worked together in 1990's Mo' Better Blues and 1991's Jungle Fever. Just about every movie Wesley Snipes has appeared in since has made a solid blip on the selective radar of fame. By 1993, when he could comfortably work alongside Sean Connery and Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes had it made.

Wesley Snipes was able to put aside the action star guise he cultivated and go back to his true passion of drama and intrigue, as seen in The Fan (1996), Murder at 1600 (1997), One Night Stand (1997), and Down on the Delta (1998). But old habits die hard, and Wesley Snipes found himself in full action regalia for the hugely successful Blade series. He also appeared in Chaos (2005), Hard Luck (2006) and Gallowwalker (2008).


WESLEY SNIPES BIOGRAPHY

Born in Orlando, Florida, on July 31, 1962, Wesley Snipes was raised in New York's South Bronx after his family relocated to the East Coast. Unbothered by his tough street surroundings, Wesley Snipes decided early on that acting was his calling.

Anyone who has seen Fame knows that the High School for the Performing Arts is an elite acting academy, and Wesley Snipes was one of its proud students. Setting his sights on musical theater, Wesley Snipes had to think of a "Plan B," as his family moved back to Orlando before he could graduate.


Wesley Snipes In The Wiz
But Wesley Snipes knew how to play the cards he was dealt. After finishing high school in Florida, he cofounded a street theater troupe called Struttin' Street Stuff and entertained the pedestrians of Orlando. He even dabbled in dinner theater with a production of The Wiz, the jazzy, soul-drenched version of The Wizard of Oz.

After graduating, Wesley Snipes returned north and pursued further studies at the State University of New York at Purchase. Still thirsting for the stage, Wesley Snipes landed a few theater roles and some commercial spots for Levi's and Coca-Cola.


Wesley Snipes In Wildcats And Major League
But it was during an acting competition that an agent saw great potential in Wesley Snipes. Confident in the actor's talent, he threw him right onto the field and cast him in a football flick starring Goldie Hawn, called Wildcats (1986).

After landing minor roles in 1986's Streets of Gold and 1987's Critical Condition (starring Richard Pryor), Wesley Snipes struck gold in the most unlikely of places: playing a thug in the Michael Jackson video for "Bad," directed by Martin Scorsese (1987). His energetic performance caught the attention of director Spike Lee, who gave him a lead role in Mo' Better Blues (1990), a movie about a group of musician friends. Wesley Snipes had also made an impression the previous year in the baseball spoof Major League. He was inching toward wide recognition.


Wesley Snipes In New Jack City
1991 was a groundbreaking year for Wesley Snipes. In New Jack City, he played ruthless drug lord Nino Brown, and then busted the taboo of interracial love in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever. Great roles kept on coming with The Waterdance (1992) and White Men Can't Jump (1992). His reviews were solid enough to get studio heads to open up their wallets and give Wesley Snipes his first big-budget role. In Passenger 57 (1992), he got to demonstrate his physical talent, opening the door to a career in action movies.

Wesley Snipes' costars just kept getting bigger too. In 1993, he side-kicked with Sean Connery in Rising Sun and with Sly Stallone in Demolition Man. Two years later, he shed his tough guy persona for drag alongside Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Three movies later, he teamed up with Robert De Niro for The Fan (1996).


Wesley Snipes In U.S. Marshals
Wesley Snipes was long past the stage of searching for work. He again showcased his dramatic skills in One Night Stand (1997), another interracial love flick featuring a seriously steamy love scene with Nastassja Kinski. For this, Wesley Snipes was awarded the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival.

After running away from Tommy Lee Jones in U.S. Marshals (1998), Wesley Snipes assumed what would become his signature role. Hunting and slaughtering evil vampires with a vengeance, Wesley Snipes became Blade. Was there anyone left who didn't know Wesley Snipes? Hollywood didn't think so, and he was therefore immortalized with a star on the Walk of Fame in 1998.

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back," Wesley Snipes developed his own -- more cerebral -- recurring series of catchphrases. Most of his action film characters recite a quote from Sun Tzu's classic military strategy tome, The Art of War. So it was no surprise when Wesley Snipes starred in a tactical espionage flick of the same title in 2000.


Wesley Snipes Returns To Blade
In 2002, Wesley Snipes reclaimed the wooden stake and massacred more bloodsuckers in Blade II, keeping his fans on edge until 2004, when his adventures would conclude in Blade: Trinity.


Wesley Snipes In Chaos And John Doe
Still strong and agile in his 40s, Wesley Snipes continued to pump out films, including 2005's Chaos, 7 Seconds and John Doe. He widened his span of influence in Hollywood as a producer, putting together movies like the Blade series, 1998's The Big Hit and Down in the Delta, and 2002's Undisputed, which he executive produced. He was also busy running his own production company, Amen Ra, with Fox studios.

A father of two children, he divorced his wife April in 1990 and started dating Korean artist Nakyung "Nikki" Park (who is the mother of his daughter). They tied the knot in 2003.


Wesley Snipes Serves Jail Time
Wesley Snipes' next acting gig was in the 2005 flick Chaos with Jason Statham and Ryan Philippe, and his 2006 movies included The Detonator and Hard Luck. He only had one 2007 project, the action-packed film The Contractor.

In 2008, Wesley Snipes went to court for not paying taxes. He was sentenced to serve three years in jail for the back taxes. However, the ruling luckily came after he finished working on the 2009 flick Gallowwalker, so before we lose Wesley Snipes for three years, we'll still have one more blockbuster to look forward to.

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