Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor. He was born in July 31, 1962. Snipes’s popular portrayals such as, Major League in 1989, New Jack City in 1991, Jungle Fever in 1991, White Men Can’t Jump in 1992, Passenger 57 in 1992, Rising Sun in 1993, Demolition Man in 1993, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar in 1995, U. S. Marshals in 1998, The Expendables 3 in 2014, Coming To America in 2021, and the Blade Film Trilogy in 1998-2004, playing Blade.
Snipes starred in The Player in 2015 in a television show. Snipes was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his portrayal in The Waterdance in 1992, and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his act in the film One Night Stand in 1997.
Snipes build his own production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991, and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to make projects for movies and television. At the age of 12, he has been practicing in martial arts, in Hapkido, he has a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido.
Sbipes was born in Orlando, Florida, his mom, Marian, was a teacher’s assistant and his dad, Wesley Rudolph Snipes, who was an Aircraft Engineer. He raised in Bronx, New York. He studied high school of performing arts of Fiorello H. LaGuardia high school of Music & Art and performing Arts but returned to Florida earlier he could graduate.
After, completing graduation from Jones High School in Orlando, he moved to New York and attended the State University Of NY at Purchase. He also studied in South-western College in California..
When Wesley, was 23 years old, He discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. His first film in the 1986, Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. After, that year, he starred in the TV show, Miami Vice as a drug smuggler Pimp in the episode, “Streetwise”, the show first surfaced on December 5, 1986.
Wesley starred as Michael Jackson’s nemesis in the Martin Scorsese- directed music video “Bad” and the feature film, Streets of Gold. The same year, He starred as Geordi La Forge in the television series Star Treak: The Next Generation, but the role finally goes to LeVar Burton. Wesley auditioned & 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, starred in the music video “Bad”, caught the eye of director Spike Lee. He starred in Lee’s Do The Right Thing, for the biggest of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League, starting a succession of his career, hits for Wesley. Lee would later gave role to Wesley as, the Jazz saxophonist shadow Henderson in Mo’Better Blues and as the main in the interracial romance drama Jungle Fever.
After, the success of Jungle Fever, The Washington Post described Wesley as “The most celebrated new celeb of the season”. After, Wesley played Thomas Flanagan in King Of New York opposite Christopher Walken. In New Jack City he played the Drug Lord Nino Brown, which was written specially for him by Barry Michael Cooper. He played a drug dealer in the 1994 film Sugar Hill.
He had played in a big number of action roles including, Passenger 57, Demolition Man, Money Train, The Fan, U. S, Marshals and Rising Sun, as well as comedian like, White Men Can’t Jump, and To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar in which he played as a Drag Queen.
Snipes has received the Best actor, Volpi Cup at the 54th Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema’S One Night Stand in 1997. In year 1998, he came to the peak of largest commercial success later the performance in, Blade as the Title Character, which has grossed over $159 million worldwide.
The film spawned a franchise. He’s the recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an Honorary Doctorate in humanities and fine arts from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase.
Snipes starred in, The Contractor, filmed in Bulgaria and the UK, Gallowwalkers, release in 2012,and Game Of Death. He was originally slated to play one of the Four leads in Spike Lee’s 2008 war movie Miracle at St. Anna but had to quit the film due to tax troubles, his roles lastly goes to Derek Luke.
He made a comeback appearance in Brooklyn’s Finest as Casanova “Caz” Phillips, a supporting role, it was his first theatrical release film since 2004. Wesley also had to turn down the part of Hale Caesar in The Expendables because he was nit permitted to leave the US without the court’s approval.
Wesley starred in the sequel The Expendables 3, in 2014. His performance as, D’Urville Martin in “Dolemite Is My Name”, has earned him positive fame and a lot of award nominations.
Wesley began training for Martial arts when he was 12 years old. He was a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a second degree black belt in Hapkido. Wesley has also trained in Capoeira under , Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other Desciplines including, Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple and Beazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kick boxing.
He got married to April Snipes, with whom he has a son, Jelani, who’s starred as a cameo character in Wesley’s 1990 movie, Mo’Better Blues in 2003. After, he married to a painter Nakyung “Nikki” Park Snipes, with whom he has four children. Wesley grew up as a Christian, and he reverted to Islam in 1978, but later he left Islam in 1988.
In a interview, he said Islam made me more conscious of what African people have achieved, and gave me self respect. His apartment in New York City which was ruined by the Collapse of the world Trade Center’s Twin tower at the time of September 11 Attacks. Wesley was on the West Coast at that time.
