Wesley Snipes

Early life

Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian (née Long), a teacher's assistant, and Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up in the Bronx. He attended the High School of Performing Arts of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando, Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase, from which he received a bachelor's degree in fine arts. Snipes also attended Southwestern College in California.

Career

Acting

At the age of 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 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" 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, but the role eventually went to LeVar Burton. Snipes auditioned and lobbied hard for the role of Leroy Green in the 1985 cult classic movie The Last Dragon, but the role was given to Taimak instead.

Snipes's 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 (1989), beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Henderson in Mo' Better Blues (1990) and as the lead in the interracial romance drama Jungle Fever (1991). After the success of Jungle Fever, The Washington Post described Snipes as "the most celebrated new actor of the season". He then played Thomas Flanagan in King of New York (1990) opposite Christopher Walken. He played the drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City (1991), which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. He also played a drug dealer in the 1994 film Sugar Hill.

Snipes has played a number of roles in action films, including Passenger 57 (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Demolition Man (1993) (with Sylvester Stallone), Drop Zone (1994), Money Train (1995), The Fan (1996), U.S. Marshals (1998) and The Art of War (2000), as well as comedies like White Men Can't Jump (1992), and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) where he played a drag queen. Snipes has appeared in additional dramas, such as The Waterdance (1992) and Disappearing Acts (2000).

In 1997, Snipes won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the 54th Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema's One Night Stand. In 1998, Snipes had his largest commercial success with Blade, appearing in the title role, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Blade has grossed over $150 million worldwide and the film spawned a franchise. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate in humanities and fine arts from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase. In 2002, Snipes reprised his role in Blade II, and in 2004, starred in a third film, Blade: Trinity, both of which he also produced. In 2005, Snipes sued New Line Cinema and David S. Goyer, the film's studio and director, respectively. He claimed that the studio did not pay his full salary, that he was intentionally cut out of casting decisions, and that his character's screen time was reduced in favor of co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel. The suit was later settled, but no details were released.

Snipes later appeared in The Contractor (2007), filmed in Bulgaria and the UK, Game of Death (2010), and Gallowwalkers (2012). Snipes was originally slated to play one of the four leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St. Anna but had to leave the film due to tax problems; his role eventually went to Derek Luke.

Snipes made a comeback performance in Brooklyn's Finest (2009) as Casanova "Caz" Phillips, a supporting character; it was his first theatrical release film since 2004. He also had to turn down the part of Hale Caesar in The Expendables because he was not allowed to leave the United States without the court's approval. In 2014, he appeared in the sequel The Expendables 3. His comedic role playing D'Urville Martin in Dolemite Is My Name earned him positive reviews and a number of award nominations.

In 2024, Snipes reprised his role as Blade after twenty years in the Marvel Studios film Deadpool & Wolverine, which integrated the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reunited him with former Blade: Trinity co-star Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds texted Snipes about joining the film and he had to keep his appearance a secret from his family; his surprise reappearance in the film led to positive reactions from audiences. Following the film's release, Snipes received two Guinness World Records for the longest career as a live-action Marvel character, beating out Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, as well as for the longest gap between character appearances in Marvel films.

Other ventures

In the late 1990s, Snipes and his brother started a security firm called the Royal Guard of Amen-Ra, dedicated to providing VIPs with bodyguards trained in law enforcement and martial arts. Amen-Ra is also the name of his film company. In 1996, the first film produced by Amen-Ra was A Great Aand Mighty Walk – Dr. John Henrik Clarke.

In 2000, the business was investigated for alleged ties to the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. It emerged that Snipes had spotted 200 acre of land near their Tama-Re compound in Putnam County, Georgia, intending to buy and use it for his business academy. Both Snipes's business and the groups used Egyptian motifs as their symbols. Ultimately, Snipes and his brother did not buy the land, instead establishing their company in Florida, Antigua, and Africa.

In 2005, Snipes entered into negotiations to fight Fear Factor host Joe Rogan on Ultimate Fighting Match, but the deal fell through.

In 2010, Snipes co-created the sci-fi comic series After Dark with Antoine Fuqua. In 2017, he made his debut as a novelist with the urban fantasy supernatural adventure Talon of God. In 2022, he returned to comics with The Exiled.

Personal life

Snipes has been married twice, first to April Dubois, with whom he has a son, Jelani Asar Snipes born in 1988. In 2003, Snipes married painter Nakyung "Nikki" Park, with whom he has four children.

Snipes, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam in 1978, but left Islam in 1988. During a 1991 interview, Snipes said "Islam made me more conscious of what African people have accomplished, of my self-worth, and gave me some self-dignity".

Snipes began training in martial arts when he was 12 years old in 1974. He has a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained in Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and kickboxing. During his time in New York, Snipes was trained in fighting by his friend and mentor Brooke Ellis. Snipes is also trained in Arnis.

In 2001, Snipes' apartment in New York City was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. He was on the West Coast at the time.

In 2005, Snipes was investigated by the South African Police Service after he was found to be in possession of a counterfeit South African passport while attempting to leave O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. As he has a valid and genuine U.S passport, authorities allowed him to depart, but he was classified as an "undesirable person" for immigration purposes by the South African Department of Home Affairs.

Income tax conviction

In 2008, Snipes was convicted on misdemeanor charges of willful failure to file federal income tax returns, and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. After an unsuccessful appeal, he served 28 months in federal prison. He was released in April 2013.

Charges

On October 12, 2006, Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn, and Douglas P. Rosile were charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and knowingly making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States. Snipes was also charged with willfully failing to file timely federal income tax returns. The conspiracy charge against Snipes alleged that he agreed with Kahn and Rosile to file false amended returns for 1996 and 1997, including false tax refund claims totaling over $11.3 million for the two years. The government alleged that Snipes, on Kahn's advice and with Rosile's assistance, attempted to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using a tax protester theory called the "861 argument" (an argument that the domestic income of US citizens and residents is not taxable). The government alleged that Snipes sent three fictitious "bills of exchange" for $14 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The indictment also charged that Snipes failed to file tax returns for any of the years 1999 through 2004. Snipes responded to his indictment in a letter on December 4, 2006, declaring himself to be "a non-resident alien" of the United States; in reality, Snipes is a U.S citizen by birth.

Trial and sentencing

Following a jury trial, Snipes was acquitted on February 1, 2008, of the felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and on the felony count of filing a false claim with the government. He was found guilty on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns, and acquitted on three other failure-to-file charges. His co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on the conspiracy and false claim charges.

On April 24, 2008, Snipes was sentenced by Judge William Terrell Hodges to the maximum allowable term of three years in prison for the three misdemeanors counts. Kahn was sentenced to ten years in prison, while Rosile was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Snipes's convictions in a 35-page decision issued on July 16, 2010.

Snipes reported to federal prison on December 9, 2010, to begin his three-year sentence, and he was held at McKean Federal Correctional Institution, a federal prison in Pennsylvania. On June 6, 2011, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Snipes's appeal, which had challenged the venue for the counts of failure to file returns. Snipes was released from federal prison on April 2, 2013, after serving 28 months, finishing his period of house arrest on July 19, 2013.

Filmography

Main article: List of Wesley Snipes performances

Publications

• After Dark (comics, co-created with Antoine Fuqua; 2010)
• Talon of God (novel, co-written with Ray Norman; 2017)
• The Exiled (comics, co-created with Adam Lawson & Keith Arem; 2022)

Awards and nominations

References

References

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