In the Hollywood firmament, Wesley Snipes occupies a strange position. An undoubted star - after movies like "Demolition Man" (1993) and famously, "Passenger 57" (1992) - he remains something of an enigma, churning out movies on a regular basis, but rarely producing something which stops audiences in their tracks.
Born in Orlando, Florida in 1962, the actor moved to the Bronx with his family when he was one. After attending New York's School of Performing Arts, he set about breaking into show business, first coming to the public's attention as the hoodlum who threatens Michael Jackson in the video for "Bad".
Since making his film debut in the slapstick Goldie Hawn gridiron movie "Wildcats" (1986), he's gone on to play hero and villain in everything from comedies to actioners, though his best movies - like "White Men Can't Jump" (1992) - have always managed to combine the two, making the most of his comic timing and sporty physique. He is also a keen exponent of martial arts, which guarantees realistic and original fight sequences.
However, while he's starred in his fair share of rather lacklustre mainstream fare, he maintains a healthy connection with the independent scene, producing good performances as the flawed protagonist in Mike Figgis' "One Night Stand" (1997) and as one half of an interracial couple in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" (1991).
After scoring a solid hit in 1998 with "Blade" (a sequel is on the way), his latest is "The Art Of War" (2000), which sees him return to similar territory as "US Marshals" (1998), playing an operative for the United Nations, who has to clear his name after he is framed for murder.
