What the Hell Happened to Wesley Snipes?

[TMC]

http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/08/04/w...wesley-snipes/

At the top of his career, Wesley Snipes was an A-list action star who could also cross-over into comedy and drama as he saw fit. Few actors can claim the kind of cross-genre success Snipes enjoyed. But all that ended amid very public legal entanglements that ultimately landed Snipes in jail with a three year sentence for failing to file tax returns.

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this: No matter what anyone else tells you, you still need to file your taxes.

Snipes made his screen debut opposite future co-star Woody Harrelson in the 1986 Goldie Hawn football comedy, Wildcats. Amazingly, Wildcats was also Harrelson’s big screen debut. Years later, the two would reunite as box office stars for two more films. But here, they were both unknowns.

Wildcats is your typical Goldie Hawn comedy following the formula that was successful with Private Benjamin to lesser results. Instead of the army, Wildacts finds plucky Hawn as the unlikely coach of an inner city high school football team.

No one expects a movie like Wildcats to be good. And it wasn’t. It was the kind of bland, harmless comedy Hawn was known for in those days. Her daughter, Kate Hudson, has carried on the torch with similarly formulaic romantic comedies in this decade.

Later that year, Snipes followed up Wildcats with another sports movie. In Streets of Gold, Snipes played a boxer coached by Klaus Maria Brandauer. At the time of the movie’s release, Brandauer was the star. But later video releases would emphasize Snipes’ supporting role.

Meanwhile (yes, we are still in 1986!) Snipes was also paying his dues on TV. Most notably, he played a pimp on the 80′s TV sensation, Miami Vice. Around this time, Snipes was also in consideration for the role of Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Proving that sometimes things work out for the best, the role ultimately went to LeVar Burton.

[isiahthomas]

Wesley was recently in The Expendables 3 with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Mel Gibson. I was glad to see him because i hadn't seen him since Brooklyn's Finest with Richard Gere and Don Cheadle.