Wesley Snipes
Acting • Born 1962-07-31
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). 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.
Filmography
86 credits
White Men Can't Jump
Movie • 1992
Sidney Deane
Liberty Stands Still
Movie • 2002
Joe
Passenger 57
Movie • 1992
John Cutter
Jungle Fever
Movie • 1991
Flipper Purify
New Jack City
Movie • 1991
Nino Brown
Chaos
Movie • 2005
Lorenz / Jason York
Drop Zone
Movie • 1994
Pete Nessip
Play It to the Bone
Movie • 1999
Wesley Snipes (Ringside Fan)
Money Train
Movie • 1995
John
The Marksman
Movie • 2005
Painter
The Art of War
Movie • 2000
Neil Shaw
Boiling Point
Movie • 1993
Jimmy Mercer
U.S. Marshals
Movie • 1998
Sheridan
Unstoppable
Movie • 2004
Dean Cage
The Detonator
Movie • 2006
Sonni Griffith
Rising Sun
Movie • 1993
Lt. Webster Smith
Murder at 1600
Movie • 1997
Detective Harlan Regis
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
Movie • 1995
Noxeema Jackson
Brooklyn's Finest
Movie • 2010
Casanova 'Caz' Phillips
7 Seconds
Movie • 2005
Jack Tuliver
Demolition Man
Movie • 1993
Simon Phoenix
One Night Stand
Movie • 1997
Max Carlyle
King of New York
Movie • 1990
Thomas Flanigan
The Fan
Movie • 1996
Bobby Rayburn
Major League
Movie • 1989
Willie Mays Hayes
Hard Luck
Movie • 2006
Lucky
The Art of War II: Betrayal
Movie • 2008
Neil Shaw
Blade II
Movie • 2002
Blade
Wildcats
Movie • 1986
Trumaine
Mo' Better Blues
Movie • 1990
Shadow Henderson (Sax)
Blade
Movie • 1998
Blade
Blade: Trinity
Movie • 2004
Eric Brooks / Blade
Streets of Gold
Movie • 1986
Roland Jenkins
Undisputed
Movie • 2002
Monroe Hutchen
The Contractor
Movie • 2007
James Dial
The Waterdance
Movie • 1992
Raymond Hill
Disappearing Acts
Movie • 2000
Franklin Swift
Futuresport
Movie • 1999
Obike Fixx
Gallowwalkers
Movie • 2012
Aman
Game of Death
Movie • 2011
Agent Marcus
Sugar Hill
Movie • 1994
Romello Skuggs
Back on the Strip
Movie • 2023
Luther 'Mr. Big'
Down in the Delta
Movie • 1998
Will Sinclair
The Expendables 3
Movie • 2014
Doc
Zig Zag
Movie • 2002
Dave Fletcher
Where's Usher?
Movie • 2024
Leslie Snipes
Sous les marches du palais
Movie • 1991
Self
The Making of The Expendables 3
Movie • 2014
Self
Masters of the Martial Arts Presented by Wesley Snipes
Movie • 1998
Self
Chi-Raq
Movie • 2015
Sean 'Cyclops' Andrews
Waiting to Exhale
Movie • 1995
James Wheeler (uncredited)
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Movie • 2010
(archive footage)
America's Dream
Movie • 1996
George Du Vaul (segment "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black")
Deadpool & Wolverine
Movie • 2024
Blade
Armed Response
Movie • 2017
Isaac
Critical Condition
Movie • 1987
Ambulance Driver
The Recall
Movie • 2017
The Hunter
Hardwood Dreams
Movie • 1993
Narrator
Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar
Movie • 1996
Self
Cut Throat City
Movie • 2020
Lawrence
Dolemite Is My Name
Movie • 2019
D’Urville Martin
John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk
Movie • 1996
Narrator
Outbreak Z
Movie
Coming 2 America
Movie • 2021
General Izzi
Nightstalkers, Daywalkers, and Familiars: Inside the World of 'Blade: Trinity'
Movie • 2005
Self
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine
Movie • 2024
Self - Blade
The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II'
Movie • 2002
Self
The Real Malcolm X
Movie • 1992
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
Movie • 2014
self
H.E.L.P.
TV • 1990
Lou Barton
The Bernie Mac Show
TV • 2001
Duke
Miami Vice
TV • 1984
Silk
The View
TV • 1997
Self - Guest
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV • 1992
Self
Basketball: A Love Story
TV • 2018
Self (archive footage)
True Story
TV • 2021
Carlton
The Player
TV • 2015
Mr. Johnson
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
The Pied Piper (voice)
What We Do in the Shadows
TV • 2019
Wesley
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
TV • 2023
Morlak (voice)
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
TV • 1987
Hood
Vivement dimanche
TV • 1998
Self
HBO First Look
TV • 1992
Forensic Justice
TV • 2016
Self (archive footage)
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV • 2003
Self - Guest