As many know, actor Wesley Snipes once went to jail because of his tax problems. But his issues with the IRS didn’t impede the actor’s career. At one point, it even helped it. One of the reasons why Snipes was cast in this gritty crime drama was because of his real-life troubles with the law
Wesley Snipes once shared he became a better man after serving a prison sentence for tax evasion
Snipes once had to spend a couple of years in jail for failing to file $15 million worth of taxes. His prison sentence was handed down in 2008, and he began serving his time in December 2010. He spent two and a half years in prison before being released in 2013. In an interview with The Guardian, Snipes spoke about his time in prison, and the valuable lessons he learned when behind bars.
“The biggest thing I got from it was learning the value of time and how we often squander it … I understand that very clearly now, having been away from my family and loved ones two and a half years,” he once said.
Snipes believed a mistake was made with his conviction, but he also conceded that he had a hand in his own imprisonment. The Blade star felt his accountants and lawyers were ultimately at fault for what happened.
“The law says you pay for people who are experts to manage your business affairs, yet I was included as a co-conspirator with the lawyer and the accountants. Now this is rare. Very unusual situation,” he said. “Absolutely. Of course it was unfair.”
But Snipes also asserted that he should’ve known better.
“No one forced me to take that person as my accountant; no one forced me to take that person as my lawyer,” he said.
Wesley Snipes was cast in ‘Brookyn’s Finest’ because of his tax problems
Apart from experiencing a bit of personal growth, Snipes’ tax problems also helped him professionally.
In 2009, he starred in the gritty crime drama Brooklyn’s Finest alongside Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke.
The film’s director, Antoine Fuqua, decided to cast Snipes in his film based on how Snipes handled his tax problems. In Finest, Snipes plays a former crime lord who’s trying to reform. Fuqua thought Snipes’ own run-ins with the law made him a viable candidate for the role.
“I didn’t want a guy who yells and screams. I wanted someone you feel fear but also sympathy, and then I saw Wesley going through what he was going through and I thought, ‘This is a guy who’s living it right now,’” Fuqua once told the LA Times.
Likewise, Snipes also noticed his character’s story in Brooklyn’s Finest paralleled some of his own life experiences.
“Part of what makes the character work is that it’s immediately identifiable in the arc of my career,” Snipes said. “And in the arc of my life.”
Denzel Washington and Woody Harrelson tried to help Wesley Snipes
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Snipes received support from several of his peers during this difficult period in his life. Celebrities such as Denzel Washington and Woody Harrelson wrote letters asking the court to reduce Snipes’ sentence.
They also spoke about how high and honorable of a character Snipes was. Washington compared the New Jack City actor to a “tree – a mighty oak.” Whereas Harrelson talked about working with Snipes and being mentored by the actor.
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