Wesley
Snipes The Actor
Wesley
Snipes has distinguished himself as one of the most talented
and respected leading men in the entertainment industry, with
numerous starring roles in action-adventures, thrillers, comedy
and dramatic feature films. He has starred opposite such noted
actors as Robert De Niro and Sean Connery and is regarded
as one of the most prolific producers of 1998.
Born
in Orlando, Florida, Snipes moved to the South Bronx as an
infant and attended the High School for the Performing Arts.
Much to his dismay, his mother decided to move the family
back to Orlando, where he completed high school and teamed
up with friends to form Struttin' Street Stuff, a traveling
puppet troupe that performed in public parks and schools.
In 1980, Snipes returned to New York to attend SUNY/Purchase,
where he prepared for a career on the stage. He subsequently
landed roles on Broadway in such productions as Boys of Winter,
Execution of Justice and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka's Death
and the King's Horseman.
In
1987, Snipes appeared as Michael Jackson's rival gang leader
in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video Bad and the feature
film Streets of Gold, which brought him to the attention of
director Spike Lee. He turned down a small role in Lee's Do
the Right Thing for the larger part of Willie Mays Hays in
Major League, beginning a succession of box-office hits for
Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist
Shadow Handerson in Mo' Better Blues and as the lead in the
interracial romance drama Jungle Fever. Snipes' most recognizable
role is the brilliant drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City,
which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper.
In
1997 he won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival
for his performance in New Line Cinema's dramatic tale of
infidelity, One Night Stand. Snipes was also lauded by critics
worldwide for his uncompromising performance in U.S. Marshals,
the sequel to Warner Bros. Pictures' box-office hit, The Fugitive.
Snipes
produced The Big Hit, starring Mark Wahlberg and executive
produced by John Woo and Terrence Chang, and the critically
acclaimed feature Down in the Delta, which marked Dr. Maya
Angelou's directorial debut and garnered several awards including
a Christopher Prism and nominations in multiple categories
for the Acapulco Black Film Festival, as well as an NAACP
Image Award for Best Motion Picture.
Additionally,
television projects distinguished Snipes as a creative force
with ABC's Futuresport, in which he starred with Dean Cain
and Vanessa L. Williams. Snipes also produced the highest
rated cable special of all time, TNT's "The First Tribute
to the Martial Arts Masters of the 20th Century," which
showcased some of the greatest innovators of the martial arts.
Snipes
has successfully ventured into the creative aspects of filmmaking
while steadily building his resume with a cache of box-office
hits. In 1991, he formed his own independent production company,
Amen Ra Films, and its subsidiary Black Dot Media, to develop
projects for film and television.
1998
was especially rewarding for Snipes with the successful opening
of the year's cult hit Blade, for New Line Cinema, which has
grossed over $150 million worldwide. He was also honored with
a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received an honorary
doctorate from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase, for his outstanding
achievements in film.
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