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Wesley Snipes quickly became one of the biggest actors in the U.S. in the ‘90s, thanks to the success of his breakthrough role in 1989’s Major League starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Margaret Whitton. The flick’s box office success helped the 59-year-old land a ton of acting gigs, which appeared to have shown clear signs that Snipes had become an actor in high demand.
Somewhere during his triumphant run in Hollywood did the Florida-born Blade star find himself making more headlines for his behavior than for his movies, which, by the late ‘90s, had gone from being highly favored to getting shredded by film critics, who felt as if Snipes had lost his winning touch.
Following a string of box office flops, he was eventually said to have been blackballed following claims he was difficult to work with on set, along with claims he often talked bad about Hollywood and its politics. And to make matters all the worse, he was eventually given prison time for tax evasion. So how much is Snipes worth today?
What We Know About Wesley Snipes’ Earnings
There’s no doubt that Snipes made a fortune from his film career. Though he’s starred in countless films which hadn’t performed too well at the box office, Snipes did attract a huge audience to some of his other films, including the Blade series.
The first installment, released in 1998, made a whopping $130 million worldwide, which wasn’t bad for an actor who had appeared in so many flops at that point in his career, it seemed like fans hadn’t given up on Snipes just yet — particularly now that he was playing a half-vampire, half-mortal superhero.
Today, Snipes is worth just over $10 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, with most of his earnings stemming from his career on the big screen.
Throughout the ‘90s, Snipes was very vocal in saying he didn’t have the easiest time working as an actor in Hollywood. During an interview with journalist Jae-Ha Kim, he was adamant about not taking on roles to play less redeeming characters purely because of his skin color.
"I think that some people may mistake my comments about not wanting to do 'stereotypical' parts for not ever accepting a role as a gang member or drug lord again,” he expressed. "That's not true, because if a great role comes up and he happens to be a pimp, I'll do it. So many scripts out there have African-Americans portray worthless people because it's accepted, and the roles have no redeeming values."
The Demolition Man continued: "It's sort of similar to the analogy of pretty women in Hollywood being offered parts where they are undressed or are basically window dressing. I don't want prejudice to ever become acceptable and the norm, because it's not.”
Though his comments were deemed rather controversial at the time, Snipes - who was at the peak of his career at the time - was still able to acquire solid roles in movies such as Sugar Hill and Jungle Fever.
But it’s believed that his remarks about being stereotyped as an actor may have not sat all too well with Hollywood executives.
How Snipes Lost Some Of His Fortune
In 1991, Snipes was wrongfully racially harassed by a Los Angeles police officer, who allegedly kneeled on his neck and held a gun to his head after the car he’d been driving had been reported as stolen.
It was later revealed, though, that the vehicle had been rented out by Snipes’ production company and was mistakenly reported, and while an apology was issued, the father-of-five was livid by the ordeal as he held a press conference a few days later.
Some believe that the incident may have contributed to him receiving fewer roles in Los Angeles. And though he’d still been cast for films here and there, most were negatively reviewed and harshly criticized.
Snipes also faced prison time for tax evasion, which amounted to $7 million. He was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2008 and fined $5 million for willingly failing to file millions of dollars in tax returns. His sentence began in 2010 and he was released in April 2013.
Speaking to The Guardian about his time in the slammer, he shared: "I hope I came out a better person.
"I came out a clearer person. Clearer on my values, clearer on my purpose, clearer about my relationship with my ancestors and the great god and the great goddess above, and clearer on what I was going to do once I had my freedom back.”
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