Wesley Snipes
Acting · Crew · Production
Born July 31, 1962, Orlando, Florida, USA
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
- 2024Deadpool & Wolverine — Blade
- 2024Where's Usher? — Leslie Snipes
- 2023Back on the Strip — Luther 'Mr. Big', Producer
- Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur — Morlak (voice)
- 2021Coming 2 America — General Izzi
- True Story — Carlton
- 2020Cut Throat City — Lawrence
- 2019Dolemite Is My Name — D’Urville Martin
- What We Do in the Shadows — Wesley
- 2017Armed Response — Isaac, Producer
- 2017The Recall — The Hunter, Producer
- 2015Chi-Raq — Sean 'Cyclops' Andrews
- The Player — Mr. Johnson
- 2014The Expendables 3 — Doc
- 2012Gallowwalkers — Aman
- 20102Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift — (archive footage)
- 2010Brooklyn's Finest — Casanova 'Caz' Phillips
- 2010Game of Death — Agent Marcus
- 2008The Art of War II: Betrayal — Neil Shaw
- 2007The Contractor — James Dial
- 2006Hard Luck — Lucky
- 2006The Detonator — Sonni Griffith
- 20057 Seconds — Jack Tuliver
- 2005Chaos — Lorenz / Jason York
- 2005The Marksman — Painter
- 2004Blade: Trinity — Blade, Producer
- 2004Unstoppable — Dean Cage
- 2002Blade II — Blade, Producer
- 2002Liberty Stands Still — Joe
- 2002Undisputed — Monroe Hutchen, Executive Producer
- 2002Zig Zag — Dave Fletcher
- The Bernie Mac Show — Duke
- 2000Disappearing Acts — Franklin Swift, Executive Producer
- 2000The Art of War — Neil Shaw, Executive Producer
- 1999Futuresport — Obike Fixx, Producer
- 1999Play It to the Bone — Wesley Snipes (Ringside Fan)
- 1998Blade — Blade, Producer, Martial Arts Choreographer
- 1998Down in the Delta — Will Sinclair, Producer
- 1998Jackie Chan: My Story — Thanks
- 1998The Big Hit — Producer
- 1998U.S. Marshals — Sheridan
- 1997Murder at 1600 — Detective Harlan Regis
- 1997One Night Stand — Max Carlyle
- 1996America's Dream — George Du Vaul (segment "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black")
- 1996John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk — Narrator
- 1996The Fan — Bobby Rayburn
- Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child — The Pied Piper (voice)
- 1995Money Train — John
- 1995To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar — Noxeema Jackson
- 1995Waiting to Exhale — James Wheeler (uncredited)
- 1994Drop Zone — Pete Nessip
- 1994Sugar Hill — Romello Skuggs
- 1993Boiling Point — Jimmy Mercer
- 1993Demolition Man — Simon Phoenix
- 1993Hardwood Dreams — Narrator
- 1993Rising Sun — Lt. Webster Smith
- HBO First Look
- 1992Passenger 57 — John Cutter
- 1992The Real Malcolm X
- 1992The Waterdance — Raymond Hill
- 1992White Men Can't Jump — Sidney Deane
- 1991Jungle Fever — Flipper Purify
- 1991New Jack City — Nino Brown
- H.E.L.P. — Lou Barton
- 1990King of New York — Thomas Flanigan
- 1990Mo' Better Blues — Shadow Henderson (Sax)
- 1989Major League — Willie Mays Hayes
- 1988Michael Jackson: Bad — Mini Max
- 1987Critical Condition — Ambulance Driver
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd — Hood
- 1986Streets of Gold — Roland Jenkins
- 1986Wildcats — Trumaine
- Miami Vice — Silk
- Outbreak Z — Executive Producer
Appearances as themselves (18)
- 2024Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine — Self - Blade
- Basketball: A Love Story — Self (archive footage)
- Forensic Justice — Self (archive footage)
- 2014Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience — self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
- 2014The Making of The Expendables 3 — Self
- Conan — Self
- 2005Nightstalkers, Daywalkers, and Familiars: Inside the World of Blade Trinity — Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
- 2002The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II' — Self
- 1998Masters of the Martial Arts Presented by Wesley Snipes — Self
- Vivement dimanche — Self
- The View — Self - Guest
- 1996Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar — Self
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno — Self
- 1991Sous les marches du palais — Self
- Film '72 — Self
- The Oscars — Self