Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes
Snipes in September 2009
Born	Wesley Trent Snipes July 31, 1962 (1962-07-31) (age 48) , U.S.
Occupation	Actor, martial artist, film producer
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	April Duboise (1985–1990) Nikki Park (2003–present)

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. He has starred in numerous action-adventures, thrillers, and dramatic feature films and is well known for his role as Blade in the Blade trilogy. Snipes formed a production company titled 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 age twelve, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate.^[1] He has also trained as a student of Capoeira^[1] under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu^[2] and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.^[1]

Early life

Snipes was born on July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian, a teacher's assistant, and Wesley R. Snipes, an aircraft engineer.^[3] He grew up in the Bronx, New York City. Snipes graduated from I.S. 131 an underprivileged middle school in the south Bronx and also attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing, but moved to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando,^[4] Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase, before being asked to leave the prestigious Acting Conservatory his junior year. Snipes also attended a few years at Southwest College in Los Angeles.

Career

Acting

A 23-year-old Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. Later that year he appeared on the trendy 1980's TV show Miami Vice as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode 'Streetwise' (first aired December 5, 1986). In 1987, he appeared as Michael Jackson's nemesis in the Martin Scorsese directed music video "Bad" (he is seen in only the long version of the video) and the feature film Streets of Gold. That same year, Snipes was also considered for the role of Geordi La Forge in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.^[5]

Snipes' performance in the music video "Bad" caught the eye of director Spike Lee. Snipes turned down a small role in Lee's Do the Right Thing for the larger part of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League, beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Henderson in Mo' Better Blues and as the lead in the interracial romance drama Jungle Fever. Another important role for Snipes was the powerful drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City, which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. Another film in which his character was involved in drugs was the somber movie Sugar Hill.

Although Snipes is more known for his roles in action films like Passenger 57, Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone), Money Train, U.S. Marshals (a sequel of The Fugitive) and Rising Sun (with Sean Connery), he has also had success in comedies like White Men Can't Jump, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar where he played a drag queen together with Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo. Snipes has also been critically acclaimed for his roles in dramas like The Waterdance and Disappearing Acts.

In 1997, he won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema's One Night Stand. 1998 marked Snipes's largest commercial success with the opening of Blade, for New Line Cinema, which has grossed over $150 million worldwide. The film turned into a successful series. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase, for his outstanding achievements in film.

Most of his latest films have been released straight-to-DVD. His latest films are The Shooter (also known as The Contractor), filmed in Bulgaria and the UK, with Charles Dance, Lena Heady, Eliza Bennett, 'Gallowwalker, released in 2009 and Game Of Death with Ernie Hudson, Robert Davi, Zoe Bell, Gary Daniels, directed by Giorgio Serafini.

Snipes was originally slated to play one of the four leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film, Miracle at St. Anna but had to leave the film due to his widely-publicized tax problems, and his role eventually went to Derek Luke.^[6]

Snipes made a comeback performance in Brooklyn's Finest as Caz, a supporting character. He also had to turn down the part of 'Hale Caesar' in The Expendables due to not being allowed to leave the United States without the court's approval. He was also offered the role of Nick Curran in Basic Instinct, but turned it down due to commitments on another film.

Other ventures

In the late 1990s, Snipes and his brother started a security firm called the 'Royal Guard of Amen-Ra', dedicated to providing VIPs with bodyguards trained in law enforcement and martial arts.^[7]

In 2000, the business was investigated for alleged ties to a group called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. It turns out that Snipes had spotted 200 acres (0.81 km²) of land with the intention to buy and use for his business academy, which were close to the aforesaid compound in Putnam County, Georgia. Both Snipes's business and the groups had Egyptian motifs as their symbols, which prompted people to hypothesize ties between them.^[7]

Snipes and his brother ended up not buying the land and established their company in Florida, Antigua, and Africa, while the compound was raided in 2002 and their leader convicted ( In later years the conviction has been overturned).^[7]

In 2005, Snipes was in negotiations to fight Fear Factor star, Brazilian jujitsu brown belt and UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.^[8]

Personal life

Snipes has been linked to a number of women including Jada Pinkett Smith, Sanaa Lathan, Halle Berry, and Jennifer Lopez. He has been married twice; first, to April Snipes from 1985-1990 with whom he has a son, Jelani Asar Snipes, born in 1988. Jelani had a cameo role in Snipes' 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. In 2003, Snipes wed painter Nakyung 'Nikki' Park, who is the mother of his four youngest children: son Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes; daughter Iset Jua-T Snipes (born July 31, 2001); son Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes (born May 26, 2004); and son Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born March 26, 2007). Snipes spends a lot of time in Park's home country of South Korea, which he calls his "second home".

Snipes converted from Christianity to Islam in 1978, but later left Islam in 1988. His current beliefs are unknown.^[9] Snipes's apartment was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was on the west coast at the time.^[10]

A September 24, 2002 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press release listed Wesley Snipes as an "artist who is supporting" a $6 million fundraiser with tickets ranging from "$500 to $250,000."^[11]

Legal troubles

Tax problems

On October 12, 2006, Wesley Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn, and Douglas P. Rosile were charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371 and one count of knowingly making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States, under 18 U.S.C. § 287 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Snipes was also charged with six counts of willfully failing to file Federal income tax returns by their filing dates under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.^[12] The conspiracy charge against Snipes included allegations that he filed a false amended return including a false tax refund claim of over US$4 million for the year 1996 and a false amended return including a false tax refund claim of over US$7.3 million for the year 1997. The government alleged that Snipes attempted to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using a tax protester theory called the "861 argument" (essentially, an argument that the domestic income of U.S. citizens and residents is not taxable). The indictment said Snipes used accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients.^[13] The government also charged that Snipes sent three worthless, fictitious "bills of exchange" to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amounts of $1,000,000 (on November 30, 2000), $12,000,000 (January 18, 2001), and $1,000,000 (September 10, 2002), with each accompanied by an IRS tax payment voucher coupon.^[14]

Under the alleged deal, the firm American Rights Litigators was to receive, from the clients, an amount equal to 20 percent of the tax refunds obtained for those clients.^[15] The government also charged that Snipes failed to file tax returns for the years 1999 through 2004.^[16]

In a December 4, 2006 letter from Snipes in response to his indictment, he declared himself "a non-resident alien" of the United States (in reality Snipes is a US born citizen).^[17] Snipes said he was being made an example of and unfairly targeted by prosecutors because of his fame in connection with the federal tax fraud investigation.^[15] He attempted unsuccessfully to get the trial moved from Ocala, Florida on the ground that racist attitudes in that town would prejudice his chance for a fair trial.^[18] Snipes faced the possibility of up to sixteen years in prison and substantial fines if convicted on all the charges.^[19] The trial began on January 14, 2008, in Ocala, Florida,^[20] with opening statements beginning on January 16, 2008.^[21]

Mug shot of Snipes taken in April 2008.

On February 1, 2008, Snipes was acquitted on the felony count of conspiracy to defraud the government and on the felony count of filing a false claim with the government. He was, however, found guilty on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file Federal income tax returns (and acquitted on three other "failure to file" charges). His co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on the conspiracy and false claim charges in connection with the income tax refund claims filed for Snipes.^[22][23]

On April 24, 2008, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for willful failure to file federal income tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.^[24][25][26] While defense lawyers urged leniency, prosecutors argued that Snipes should be made an example of because of his fame.^[4] Kahn was sentenced to ten years in prison, and Rosile was sentenced to four and half years in prison.^[27] As of 2010, Snipes remains free on bail to work, even traveling internationally, while he appeals his conviction.^[28][29] In April 2009, the Los Angeles Wave reported that Snipes has refused to answer certain questions in connection with a talent agency lawsuit in which the agency claims that Snipes owes over $1.4 million in commissions. Snipes is reported to have taken the position that his answers could incriminate him in a federal tax investigation. Lawyers for the talent agency stated that Snipes' lawyer advised the lawyers for the talent agency that "Snipes and his [ . . . ] companies are under an additional investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and Snipes would be asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and would not answer any questions at his deposition."^[30] On May 22, 2008, the trial court ruled that Snipes could remain free while his appeal is being considered.^[31]

On July 16, 2010, in a 35-page decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Snipes' convictions.^[32][33][34] At the conclusion of its decision, the Court of Appeals stated:

Although Snipes argues that there were mitigating factors that the judge did not specifically mention at sentencing, these facts -- his college education, his family, and his charitable activities -- do not compel the conclusion that the sentence crafted in accordance with the 18 U.S.C. [section] 3553(a) factors was substantively unreasonable. The district court acted well within its considerable discretion in sentencing Snipes to thirty-six months in prison.^[34]

New Line lawsuit

In 2005, Snipes sued New Line Cinema, and David S. Goyer (director of Blade: Trinity) claiming that the studio did not pay his full salary, that he was intentionally cut out of casting decisions and filmmaking process, despite being one of the producers, and that his character's screen time was reduced in favor of costars, Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel.

Snipes contends that Goyer, his fellow producers, and New Line kept him out of the project's decision process, which ended up harming the film's performance (it made just $52 million, compared to the previous installments that had made $70 million and $82 million respectively). He says that a portion of his salary - $3.6 million - was withheld as punishment. Neither Goyer nor New Line has commented on these allegations. The suit is still pending.^[7]

Awards and nominations

Filmography

TV series

Other

References

External links

• Wesley Snipes at the Internet Movie Database
• Wesley Snipes at the Internet Broadway Database
• Picture of Snipes' fake South African Passport
• The Snipes Trial - a website by commentator J.J. MacNab on the criminal tax trial of Wesley Snipes
• Snipes innocent of conspiracy to defraud
• IRS Debunks Frivolous Tax Arguments