Wesley Snipes is an American film actor and martial artist best known for his role as the Marvel antihero Blade in the *Blade* film trilogy. With a career defined by action, crime, and martial arts cinema, Snipes became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable action stars of the 1990s and early 2000s, appearing in numerous commercially successful and culturally influential films.

Early Life and Education

Wesley Trent Snipes was born on July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida, to Marian Snipes and Wesley R. Snipes. He spent much of his youth growing up in the South Bronx, New York, an environment that strongly shaped his discipline, resilience, and ambition.

Snipes attended the High School of Performing Arts, New York, where he studied drama, but did not graduate after his family relocated back to Florida. After returning to Orlando, he completed high school and began performing in local theater productions. In 1985, he graduated from college in Florida, formally completing his education.

Early Career and Breakthrough

Determined from a young age to become an actor, Wesley Snipes began performing in small stage productions during his high school years. His athletic build and commanding screen presence soon attracted the attention of talent agents, leading to his first minor film appearance in Wildcats, starring Goldie Hawn.

In 1986, Snipes appeared in a high-profile commercial for Levi’s 501 jeans. The following year, he gained wider exposure by appearing in the extended 18-minute music video for “Bad” from Michael Jackson’s album Bad, a project that significantly increased his visibility.

Rise to Fame in Action Cinema

Snipes’ major breakthrough came in 1991 with New Jack City, a crime drama that established him as a powerful screen presence. Trained extensively in martial arts—including Kung Fu, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, and Capoeira—and holding a fifth-degree black belt, Snipes quickly became a natural fit for action-heavy roles.

Throughout the early 1990s, he starred in a series of high-profile action films that solidified his status as a global star. These included Passenger 57, Rising Sun opposite Sean Connery, Demolition Man alongside Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock, and The Fan with Robert De Niro.

Critical and Commercial Success

In 1992, Wesley Snipes showcased his versatility by starring opposite Woody Harrelson in the basketball comedy-drama White Men Can’t Jump, which became a cult classic.

He continued his commercial success with Money Train in 1995, reuniting with Woody Harrelson and co-starring with Jennifer Lopez. In 1998, he appeared in U.S. Marshals alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Downey Jr..

The Blade Franchise

Snipes reached peak international fame in 1998 with Blade, directed by Stephen Norrington. Based on the Marvel Comics character, the film blended action, horror, and superhero elements. Snipes starred alongside Stephen Dorff and Kris Kristofferson, delivering a performance that redefined comic book adaptations for mature audiences.

The success of *Blade* led to two sequels, establishing Snipes as a defining figure in pre-MCU superhero cinema and influencing later Marvel adaptations.

Later Career and Legal Issues

In 2000, Snipes starred in The Art of War, sharing the screen with Donald Sutherland, Michael Biehn, and Anne Archer. However, his career momentum slowed after legal troubles emerged.

On April 24, 2008, Wesley Snipes was charged with tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison and served his sentence from 2010 until April 2, 2013.

Return to Cinema

Following his release, Snipes returned to mainstream cinema in 2014 with The Expendables 3, joining an ensemble cast that included Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. The film marked his reentry into high-profile action filmmaking.

Personal Life

Wesley Snipes has been married twice. He married April Dubois in 1985; the couple divorced in 1990 and have one son, Jelani Asar Snipes (born 1988).

In 2003, Snipes married Korean painter Nikki Nakyung Park, with whom he has four children: Iset Jua-T Snipes (born 2001), Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes (born 2002), Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes (born 2004), and Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born 2007).

Wesley Snipes remains a defining figure of action cinema—an actor whose athleticism, discipline, and screen intensity helped shape the genre during one of its most influential eras.

Filmography

Producer

2004 – Blade: Trinity – Feature Film
2002 – Liberty Stands Still – Feature Film
2002 – Blade II – Feature Film
2000 – The Art of War – Feature Film
1998 – Blade – Feature Film

Actor

2015 – Chi-Raq – Cyclops – Feature Film
2014 – The Expendables 3 – Surgeon – Feature Film
2010 – Game of Death – Marcus – Feature Film
2010 – Gallowwalker – Aman – Feature Film
2009 – Brooklyn’s Finest – Caz – Feature Film
2008 – The Art of War II: Betrayal – Neil Shaw – Feature Film
2007 – The Contractor – James Dial – Feature Film
2006 – Hard Luck – Lucky – Feature Film
2006 – The Detonator – Sonni Griffith – Feature Film
2005 – The Marksman – Painter – Video
2005 – Chaos – Lorenz – Feature Film
2005 – 7 Seconds – Jack Tuliver – Feature Film
2004 – Unstoppable – Dean Cage – Feature Film
2004 – Blade: Trinity – Blade – Feature Film
2002 – Zig Zag – Dave Fletcher – Feature Film
2002 – Liberty Stands Still – Monroe Hutchens – Feature Film
2002 – Ultimate Fights from the Movies – Blade (archival footage) – Video
2002 – Blade II – Blade – Feature Film
2001 – The Bernie Mac Show – Duke – TV Series
2000 – The Art of War – Neil Shaw – Feature Film
2000 – Disappearing Acts – Franklin Swift – Feature Film
1998 – U.S. Marshals – Mark J. Sheridan – Feature Film
1998 – Futuresport – Obike Fixx – Feature Film
1998 – Down in the Delta – Will Sinclair – Feature Film
1998 – Blade – Blade – Feature Film
1997 – Love Jones – Max Carlyle – Feature Film
1997 – Murder at 1600 – Harlan Regis – Feature Film
1996 – The Fan – Bobby Rayburn – Feature Film
1995 – To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar – Noxeema Jackson – Feature Film
1995 – Money Train – John – Feature Film
1994 – Drop Zone – Pete Nessip – Feature Film
1993 – Rising Sun – Webster Smith – Feature Film
1993 – Sugar Hill – Roemello Skuggs – Feature Film
1993 – Boiling Point – Jimmy Mercer – Feature Film
1993 – Demolition Man – Simon Phoenix – Feature Film
1992 – White Men Can’t Jump – Sidney Deane – Feature Film
1992 – Passenger 57 – John Cutter – Feature Film
1991 – New Jack City – Nino Brown – Feature Film
1991 – Jungle Fever – Flipper Purify – Feature Film
1990 – Mo’ Better Blues – Shadow Henderson – Feature Film
1990 – King of New York – Thomas Flanigan – Feature Film
1989 – Major League – Willie Mays Hayes – Feature Film
1987 – Bad – Mini Max – Music Video
1986 – Wildcats – Trumaine – Feature Film
1986 – Streets of Gold – Roland Jenkins – Feature Film

Source: Biyografiler.com