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Wesley Snipes
Actor

Wesley Snipes

31 Jul 1962Born
64Age
72Credits
Orlando, Florida, USABirthplace

Biography

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. Snipes has made films in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, though he is best known for his action films. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work in The Waterdance (1992) and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the film One Night Stand (1997).

Born in Florida, Snipes had notable parts in the comedy film Major League (1989), the drama Mo' Better Blues (1990), and the crime drama King of New York (1990) before gaining prominence by playing a drug lord in the crime drama New Jack City (1991).

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He subsequently received more attention for the drama film Jungle Fever (1991), the sports comedy White Men Can't Jump (1992), and the action film Passenger 57 (1992). He has since starred in various genres, such as the comedy film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), the thriller The Fan (1996), and the drama film Down in the Delta (1998), but mostly established himself as an action star, portraying both heroes and villains in films such as Demolition Man (1993), Rising Sun (1993), Money Train (1995), and U.S. Marshals (1998). Also in 1998, he was cast as Eric Brooks/BBlade in the superhero film Blade, based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name, a role he went on to reprise in Blade II (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).

Snipes had smaller roles during the 2000s and moved to direct-to-video action films before returning to the theatrical release with films such as Brooklyn's Finest (2009) and The Expendables 3 (2014). His television work includes multiple episodes in the drama series H.E.L.P. (1990), the action thriller crime drama series The Player (2015), and the drama limited series True Story (2021), as well as the romantic drama film Disappearing Acts (2000).

He formed a production company, 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 the age of 12, earning a 5thdan black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nddan black belt in Hapkido. He is credited with helping popularise martial arts in Hollywood and bringing martial arts to mainstream audiences, as well as contributing to the representation of Black actors in action roles, breaking stereotypes. In 2017, Snipes made his debut as a novelist with the urban fantasy supernatural adventure Talon of God.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Wesley Snipes, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Filmography

  1. TBAOutbreak ZFilm
  2. 2024Deadpool & WolverineFilm: Blade
  3. 2024Where's Usher?Film: Leslie Snipes
  4. 2023Back on the StripFilm: Luther 'Mr. Big'
  5. 2023Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil DinosaurSeries: Morlak (voice) (2 episodes)
  6. 2021True StorySeries: Carlton (7 episodes)
  7. 2021Coming 2 AmericaFilm: General Izzi
  8. 2020Cut Throat CityFilm: Lawrence
  9. 2019Dolemite Is My NameFilm: D’Urville Martin
  10. 2019What We Do in the ShadowsSeries: Wesley (1 episode)
  11. 2017Armed ResponseFilm: Isaac
  12. 2017The RecallFilm: The Hunter
  13. 2015Chi-RaqFilm: Sean 'Cyclops' Andrews
  14. 2015The PlayerSeries: Mr. Johnson (9 episodes)
  15. 2014The Expendables 3Film: Doc
  16. 2012GallowwalkersFilm: Aman
  17. 2010Game of DeathFilm: Agent Marcus
  18. 20102Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo DriftFilm: (archive footage)
  19. 2010Brooklyn's FinestFilm: Casanova 'Caz' Phillips
  20. 2008The Art of War II: BetrayalFilm: Neil Shaw
  21. 2007The ContractorFilm: James Dial
  22. 2006Hard LuckFilm: Lucky
  23. 2006The DetonatorFilm: Sonni Griffith
  24. 2005The MarksmanFilm: Painter
  25. 20057 SecondsFilm: Jack Tuliver
  26. 2005ChaosFilm: Lorenz / Jason York
  27. 2004Blade: TrinityFilm: Blade
  28. 2004UnstoppableFilm: Dean Cage
  29. 2002UndisputedFilm: Monroe Hutchen
  30. 2002Zig ZagFilm: Dave Fletcher
  31. 2002Blade IIFilm: Blade
  32. 2002Liberty Stands StillFilm: Joe
  33. 2001The Bernie Mac ShowSeries: Duke (1 episode)
  34. 2000Disappearing ActsFilm: Franklin Swift
  35. 2000The Art of WarFilm: Neil Shaw
  36. 1999Play It to the BoneFilm: Wesley Snipes (Ringside Fan)
  37. 1999FuturesportFilm: Obike Fixx
  38. 1998Down in the DeltaFilm: Will Sinclair
  39. 1998BladeFilm: Blade
  40. 1998U.S. MarshalsFilm: Sheridan
  41. 1997One Night StandFilm: Max Carlyle
  42. 1997Murder at 1600Film: Detective Harlan Regis
  43. 1996John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty WalkFilm: Narrator
  44. 1996The FanFilm: Bobby Rayburn
  45. 1996America's DreamFilm: George Du Vaul (segment "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black")
  46. 1995Waiting to ExhaleFilm: James Wheeler (uncredited)
  47. 1995Money TrainFilm: John
  48. 1995To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarFilm: Noxeema Jackson
  49. 1995Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildSeries: The Pied Piper (voice) (1 episode)
  50. 1994Drop ZoneFilm: Pete Nessip
  51. 1994Sugar HillFilm: Romello Skuggs
  52. 1993Demolition ManFilm: Simon Phoenix
  53. 1993Hardwood DreamsFilm: Narrator
  54. 1993Rising SunFilm: Lt. Webster Smith
  55. 1993Boiling PointFilm: Jimmy Mercer
  56. 1992The Real Malcolm XFilm
  57. 1992Passenger 57Film: John Cutter
  58. 1992HBO First LookSeries (1 episode)
  59. 1992The WaterdanceFilm: Raymond Hill
  60. 1992White Men Can't JumpFilm: Sidney Deane
  61. 1991Jungle FeverFilm: Flipper Purify
  62. 1991New Jack CityFilm: Nino Brown
  63. 1990Mo' Better BluesFilm: Shadow Henderson (Sax)
  64. 1990King of New YorkFilm: Thomas Flanigan
  65. 1990H.E.L.P.Series: Lou Barton (6 episodes)
  66. 1989Major LeagueFilm: Willie Mays Hayes
  67. 1988Michael Jackson: BadFilm: Mini Max
  68. 1987The Days and Nights of Molly DoddSeries: Hood (1 episode)
  69. 1987Critical ConditionFilm: Ambulance Driver
  70. 1986Streets of GoldFilm: Roland Jenkins
  71. 1986WildcatsFilm: Trumaine
  72. 1984Miami ViceSeries: Silk (1 episode)

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.