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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.
Wesley Snipes as BladeSnipes 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.
Wesley Snipes played drug kingpin Nino Brown in New Jack City.
In 2000, a security / paramilitary group called the Royal Guard Of Amen-Ra, Inc.[1] (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.
In 2005 Snipes was detained at Johannesburg International Airport for allegedly trying to pass through the airport with a fake South African passport. Snipes later told South African officials that he had applied for the South African papers not only for himself but also for his family. During the interview, it was established that Snipes did indeed have fraudulent South African documentation in his possession. Snipes and his attorney agreed to cooperate with the South African Inspectorate of the National Immigration Branch in their investigation. Snipes was allowed to return home because he had a valid U.S. passport, but the South African authorities reduced his immigration status to undesireable as a result of the incident. To date, there is no obvious or apparent reason exactly why Snipes had entered South Africa on forged papers.
Wesley Snipes Filmography
Actor
• 7 Seconds (2005)
• Blade Giftset (2005)
• The Marksman (2005)
• Unstoppable (2004)
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Liberty Stands Still (2002)
• Undisputed (2002)
• ZigZag (2002)
• Blade II (2002)
• The Art of War (2000)
• Play It to the Bone (1999)
• Future Sport (1998)
• Down in the Delta (1998)
• Blade (1998)
• U.S. Marshals (1998)
• One Night Stand (1997)
• Murder At 1600 (1997)
• America's Dream (1996)
• The Fan (1996)
• Waiting to Exhale (1995)
• Money Train (1995)
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
• Drop Zone (1994)
• Sugar Hill (1994)
• Demolition Man (1993)
• Rising Sun (1993)
• Boiling Point (1993)
• Passenger 57 (1992)
• The Waterdance (1992)
• White Men Can't Jump (1992)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• New Jack City (1991)
• King of New York (1990)
• Mo' Better Blues (1990)
• Vietnam War Story 2 (1989)
• Major League (1989)
• Streets of Gold (1986)
• Wildcats (1986)
Executive Producer
• Undisputed (2002)
• The Art of War (2000)
Producer
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Blade II (2002)
• Down in the Delta (1998)
• Blade (1998)
• The Big Hit (1998)
• Get on the Bus (1996)
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