Wesley Trent Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, to Marian (Long), a teacher's assistant, and SMSGT Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up on the streets of the South Bronx in New York City, where he very early decided that dance and the theatre were to be his career. He attended the High School for the Performing Arts (popularized in Fame (1980)). But dreams of the musical theater (and maybe a few commercials) faded when his mother moved to Orlando, Florida before he could graduate. Fortune would have it that he along with two friends and his "Drama class" teachers Mr. S Porro and K. Rugerio, would start a bus-n-truck theatre company (Struttin Street Stuff) be instrumental in his high schools (Jones High) induction into the International Thespian Society, Orlando Chapter and help lay the foundation for what would become Dr. Phillips High Schools theatre arts program. Musical theatre rooted Snipes performed song-n-dance, puppetry, and acrobatics in city parks, dinner clubs, and performing arts centers around central Florida. As a recipient of a Victor Borge Scholarship, Snipes left Orlando and entered the world-renowned professional theatre arts program at SUNY Purchase in New York, now Purchase College, where he honed his theatrical performance and martial arts skills. Graduating with a BFA, he went on to co-star in a few soap operas and nighttime dramas, peppered in between critical acclaim performances Broadway. It was there in a Broadway theater An agent saw him on stage and invited him to audition for his first feature film role.

Goldie Hawn Wildcats (1986). Athletic roles such as that gave way to dramatic roles such as that gave way to tough guy roles as in New Jack City (1991), and to the action hero in Passenger 57 (1992). Wesley feels that at least with the Hollywood heavyweights he must be doing something right - Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Dennis Hopper and Sean Connery all had veto power over casting and all approved his role. Wesley also founded Amen Ra Films Production Company, and is a Multi System Combat Arts Black Belt Holder IT Technologist & VC.

Wesley Snipes at an event for The Great Debaters (2007)

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Wesley Snipes, Klaus Maria Brandauer, and Adrian Pasdar in Streets of Gold (1986)

Samuel L. Jackson and Wesley Snipes in Jungle Fever (1991)

Spike Lee and Wesley Snipes in Jungle Fever (1991)

Brad Dourif and Wesley Snipes in Jungle Fever (1991)

Jennifer Lopez, Woody Harrelson, and Wesley Snipes in Money Train (1995)

Jennifer Lopez and Wesley Snipes in Money Train (1995)

Judd Nelson, Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, and Mario Van Peebles in New Jack City (1991)

Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man (1993)

'Dolemite' Cast Shares What Eddie Murphy Was Really Like on Set

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes

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