Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Wesley Trent Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, to Marian (Long), a teacher's assistant, and SMSGT Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up on the streets of the South Bronx in New York City, where he very early decided that dance and the theatre were to be his career. He attended the High School for the Performing Arts (popularized in Fame (1980)). But dreams of the musical theater (and maybe a few commercials) faded when his mother moved to Orlando, Florida before he could graduate. Fortune would have it that he along with two friends and his "Drama class" teachers Mr. S Porro and K. Rugerio, would start a bus-n-truck theatre company (Struttin Street Stuff) be instrumental in his high schools (Jones High) induction into the International Thespian Society, Orlando Chapter and help lay the foundation for what would become Dr. Phillips High Schools theatre arts program. Musical theatre rooted Snipes performed song-n-dance, puppetry, and acrobatics in city parks, dinner clubs, and performing arts centers around central Florida. As a recipient of a Victor Borge Scholarship, Snipes left Orlando and entered the world-renowned professional theatre arts program at SUNY Purchase in New York, now Purchase College, where he honed his theatrical performance and martial arts skills. Graduating with a BFA, he went on to co-star in a few soap operas and nighttime dramas, peppered in between critical acclaim performances Broadway. It was there in a Broadway theater An agent saw him on stage and invited him to audition for his first feature film role.



Goldie Hawn Wildcats (1986). Athletic roles such as that gave way to dramatic roles such as that gave way to tough guy roles as in New Jack City (1991), and to the action hero in Passenger 57 (1992). Wesley feels that at least with the Hollywood heavyweights he must be doing something right - Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Dennis Hopper and Sean Connery all had veto power over casting and all approved his role. Wesley also founded Amen Ra Films Production Company, and is a Multi System Combat Arts Black Belt Holder IT Technologist & VC.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Maandihouse@gmail.com

Spouse (2)

Nakyung (Nikki) Park (17 March 2003 - present) ( 4 children) April DuBois (1985 - 1990) ( divorced) ( 1 child)

Trade Mark (2)

Characters in his films, usually his own characters, frequently quote the literary classic "The Art of War", written by Sun Tzu around 500 B.C.E., which is widely regarded as the single best resource for training military special forces groups worldwide.



Deep commanding voice



Trivia (32)

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1990" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 42.





Has appeared in Michael Jackson 's music video Michael Jackson: Bad (1987). You can only see him in the full length, 16-minute, black and white/color music video. It is usually shortened down to just the color segment for television.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1991).



He is a fifth degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He also studied Kung Fu and has a second degree Black Belt in Hapkido, 9th Dan in the Kushindaryu and Karate, 5th Dan in Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu, and a 9th Dan in Weaponry.





Publicly blasted John Singleton for not casting him in the title role in Shaft (2000). Snipes claims the film would have made twice its $60 million+ earnings had he been cast.



Insisted that the role of Mimi (played by Ming-Na Wen ), his character's wife in the film One Night Stand (1997), be played by an Asian woman in order to "push the boundaries of racial-sexual taboos". Snipes's character, Max, is a successful Black commercial director who has an extramarital affair with an attractive blonde ( Nastassja Kinski ).

Father of son Jelani Asar Snipes (born 1988) with first wife, April.



Married Korean artist Nikki Park, who is the mother of his four youngest children, in March 2003. Snipes spends a great deal of time in Park's home country, which he calls his "second home".





You can see him reading a book on the plane in his big action film Passenger 57 (1992). The book is "The Art of War" which is the same title as a movie that he starred in eight years later, though unrelated to it.

Has mastered numerous martial arts forms including the Brazilian street fighting form Capoeira.



His apartment in NYC was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. He happened to be on the west coast with his wife, Nikki Park., taking care of their daughter who was born on his birthday on the west coast.



Is a fanatical music lover and collector and owns more than 1,000 LPs and 4,000 CDs.



Father retired from United States Air Force Reserve's 315AW Charleston Air Force Base April 1998 with the rank of MSGT.



Ranked the tenth most popular movie star in America by the Annual Harris Poll (1999).



On April 18, 2005, Snipes filed a suit against New Line Cinema for more then $5 million, claiming that the studio failed to pay the balance of his fixed rate for Blade: Trinity, and that he wasn't allowed to approve the director, per his contract stipulations.





Introduction and training in the martial arts was first by fellow classmate and now fight co-coordinator/technical advisor Marcus Salgado

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 21, 1998.



Father of sons Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes, Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes, Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born March 26, 2007) and daughter Iset Jua-T Snipes (born July 31, 2001) with wife Nakyung Park.



(November 11, 2008) Attended the star-studded opening of Dubai's lavish Atlantis Palms resort. Guests were welcomed in style with a display of one million fireworks, said to be visible from space.





Was Sylvester Stallone 's original choice to play Hale Caesar in The Expendables (2010), but couldn't accept because of his tax issues made him unable to leave the United States.



The character of Raven from Tekken 5 (2004) was modeled after him.

Pennsylvania, USA: Serving a prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean for misdemeanor failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns. Scheduled for release on July 19, 2013 (2010).





Is close friends with Woody Harrelson



Was set to star in Miracle at St. Anna (2008) but had to leave the project due to tax problems which made him unable to travel to Italy, the film's principal shooting location. His intended role went to Derek Luke



Was set to star in Major League II (1994) reprising his role of Willie Mays Hayes, but gave up the project due to schedule conflicts. The role was recast with Omar Epps

World Martial Arts Hall Of Fame, Member.



BFA Fine Arts.



Seven Degrees Martial Arts Master.



Earlier in his career he auditioned for certain films including for the leading role of Leroy Green in The Last Dragon (1985).



Personal Quotes (10)

Lot of the scripts I've been in with other non-white actors haven't been great. Lot of non-white actors ain't all that great.



[on marriage] I don't understand the mandate of being together forever. The idea that you should do that is wrong. It makes us slaves to a societal mandate. You can still love, but it doesn't mean you have to be tethered to the flesh. [9.14.97: Toronto Sun newspaper: Interviewed by Liz Braun]



I read that Asian women were bedroom generals. Some people think that means they're great in bed, but that's not the issue. They're talking about a place where the man is at his most vulnerable, where they have the most control. They don't have to beat him over the head to mow the lawn. They can whisper it in his ear and give him a kiss on the cheek and it's no problem. That's a general. (August 1998: Jet Magazine v.94 #13 pg.58)



Certain roles are more challenging than others, but I haven't come across one yet that I can't tackle.



I used to do puppet theatre and also mime and musical theatre in Florida for competitions and festivals, which was great. I was very much involved in theatre when I was in college. It's funny because all I wanted to do when I was young was to become a dancer and then I went to acting school, where they taught me great drama! And that was it, I became an actor and the rhythm went through the door. But I can still do some dancing, some choreography in my films and that's cool.



I have a great deal of fun playing Blade. The lifestyle of it, the controlled rebelliousness, is wonderful to me. And it's therapeutic, too. A role like this lets you vent.



I never really planned on making action films. It just kind of happened. I've focused primarily on acting and developing characters, but that has blossomed into a whole new venue I'm still young and fit enough to do. My love is still drama, though. Even if I play a straight action guy, I want to give him some depth and substance.



[on why he loves the sport of boxing] I love the idea of the man to man, against one another. I like that. I don't know why.



[his advice to aspiring actors] They should be very versatile. Versatility is what's going to give them the longevity. The world is opening up and a lot more stories and a lot more interesting scenes to portray in film. Versatility will help them. They must be able to see the world, learn the world, and bring it to their craft.





(2010, GQ magazine) You know, when I was doing films like White Men Can't Jump (1992) and the money was hefty, I didn't get it. I didn't know what you could do with it. Like, I've never been to Hawaii. I didn't know. I had no experience in 'Let's take some money and go to Hawaii and rent a chalet and live it up and champagne and da da da.' So I didn't go anywhere, I didn't do anything. I'm not saying I didn't have fun, but I didn't have the fun you would expect for a person who for all intents and purposes hit the lottery. I didn't do all the movie-star Hollywood things.

Salary (8)