Actor. Born in 1963, in the Bronx, New York. Tall, imposing, Black leading man of the American screen. He dropped out of Manhattan's High School for the Performing Arts when his family moved to Florida, but he resumed the study of acting at the State University of New York at Purchase. He earned his living as a telephone installer before breaking into films in 1986. An impressive moment in the 1987Michael Jackson video "Bad" led to groundbreaking exposure in New Jack City (1991) and caught the eye of director Spike Lee, who catapulted Snipes to stardom in Jungle Fever (1991).
