Wesley Snipes
|
|
John Wesley Snipes (born July 31, 1962 in Orlando, Florida) is an American actor and producer. He is probably best known for his role as the eponymous vampire hunter in the Blade trilogy of movies.
Biography
Blade_II_movie.jpg
Snipes grew up in The Bronx and decided early on that he wanted to be a dancer until he took some acting classes. He started the High School for the Performing Arts, but his mother divorced and they moved back to Orlando. He graduated from a Florida high school. While in Florida, Snipes did puppet theatre, mime and musical theatre in competitions and festivals. He then attended the State University of New York College at Purchase and graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 1985.
He did dinner theater and regional productions. An agent spotted Snipes and got him a role in Wildcats (1986). He often plays tough characters in action movies, and demonstrates considerable athletic and fighting ablity. He is interested in martial arts, including Karate, Kung Fu and Capoeira, and this interest is reflected in the fact that many of his movies make reference to Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Snipes was married from 1985 to 1990 and has a son from this marriage. His second child, a daughter born in 2001, was with Korean painter Nikki Park.
In 1991, Snipes formed the independent production company Amen Ra Films. It co-produced the first two Blade films and other titles that Snipes has starred in.
In 2000, a security / paramilitary group called the Royal Guard Of Amen-Ra, Inc.[1] (http://web.archive.org/web/19991013130638/http://cooljobs.com/coolbin/amenra.asp) (owned by Amen Ra Films) filed BATF papers in moves to set up a security training center next to the Tama-Re compound of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors in Georgia. The Nuwaubians claimed Snipes as one of their own, though a spokeswoman for Snipes denied any connection.
Selected Filmography
- Wildcats (1986)
- Major League (1989)
- New Jack City (1991)
- White Men Can't Jump (1992)
- Passenger 57 (1992)
- Demolition Man (1993)
- Drop Zone (1994)
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
- Murder at 1600 (1997)
- Blade (1998)
- The Art of War (2000)
- Blade II (2002)
- Blade: Trinity (2004)
External links
- Template:Imdb name
- Sweet & Sour Snipes (http://home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/uswesleysnipes.htm)
- WesleySnipes.com - Wesley Snipes Fan Site (http://www.wesleysnipes.com)de:Wesley Snipes
et:Wesley Snipes eo:Wesley SNIPES lb:Wesley Snipes sv:Wesley Snipes