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Later that year, he appeared on the TV show Miami Vice as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode "Streetwise" (first aired December 5, 1986). He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. Snipes signing autographs at Comic Con International in 2010Īt the age of 23, Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He also attended Southwestern College in California. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando, Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. He attended the High School of Performing Arts of Fiorello H. Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian (née Long), a teacher's assistant, and Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He has been training in martial arts since the age of 12, earning a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido. He formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991, and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes 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).
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In television, he appeared on The Player (2015). Marshals (1998), The Expendables 3 (2014), Coming 2 America (2021), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004), portraying Blade. He appeared in the films Major League (1989), New Jack City (1991), Jungle Fever (1991), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Passenger 57 (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Demolition Man (1993), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), U.S. Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor.
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