Wesley Snipes Quotes

I think I have kind of a natural magnetism.

I think any man would be nervous if his liberty is at stake.

We're conditioned in this country to believe that if there's a problem, the black man is usually the culprit.

So: see ya, and I wouldn't wanna be ya.

I've reduced a lot of the stress in my life. I've gotten rid of a lot of things. The light was turned on and a lot of the cockroaches started spinning. I swept them out the door. And sometimes you just have to throw things out because they carry a certain energy.

If a woman decides she likes me, it would behoove her to take into consideration that my art has had a strong influence on the type of person I am.

I'm not looking at an action movie as something where I just jump around and look beautiful and show my muscles. Since there are so few people that do this and have that pedigree, people disregard their contribution.

You give Frost a message from me. You tell him it's open season on all suckheads.

I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be an African American in America. I've had some interesting experiences: some great, some not so great, but I love it here.

There's a lot of great stuff on television and that's very appealing to actors who want to work, who do good quality and high quality work. But you're always concerned that the time demands on television will interrupt or interfere with your film work.

I think of myself as a young prince from a long line of royalty.

We should be able to go to our government and get clear answers.

I'm not guilty. You're the one that's guilty. The lawmakers, the politicians, the Colombian drug lords, all you who lobby against making drugs legal. Just like you did with alcohol during Prohibition. You're the one who's guilty. I mean, c'mon, let's kick the ballistics here: ain't no Uzi's made in Harlem. Not one of us in here owns a poppy field. This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way.

I was never charged with tax evasion. I've never been a tax protester.

My sign is Leo. A Leo has to walk with pride. When he takes a step, he has to put his foot down. You walk into a room and you want people to know your presence, without you doing anything.

I'm a physical type of actor and love projects in which I can get physical. The more action, the better.

I've come to the conclusion that beautiful women in the West aren't comfortable finding strength in their femininity. They want to do masculine-oriented things to establish their femininity. It's a contradiction.

The first time I jumped from a plane, I screamed like a woman. I was two miles up and you could hear me clear as day. Now I love it.

I watch a lot of different films. A lot of different performances and I find a lot of little things from the films or things that actors do or people in real life who have behaviors or idiosyncrasies that I like or find interesting and I try to remember that. And then I'll do a prayer. I'll do a prayer to ask the character or the spirit of the character to come and visit me. And let's work together.

I think the key that differentiates the good actors from the mediocre ones that are still trying to come up, is that the good ones know how to listen. It's like being in a jazz band. They know how to listen to what the other musicians are playing. And where to come in and where to sit out. That's my approach to being in an ensemble cast and working with any kind of actors in a scene.

I mainly buy books in my free time.

I actually take images of things and put them up around the wall and in a room. I set a room aside. It might be colors, it might be animals, or energy and words. And I'll just leave it there, so it begins to work on my subconscious when I think about the character. Which gives me some latitude to be really flexible and spontaneous but within the context of the character and the world of the character without having to think about it. Or I'll look at something or read something and let it work on my subconscious mind.

Lot of the scripts I've been in with other non-white actors haven't been great. Lot of non-white actors ain't all that great.

There are so few guys who do action and do it well. Even fewer who are African-American. Even fewer who have classical-theater training. So a cat like me coming in, I'm bringing all of that to an action movie.

I was convicted of three misdemeanors of willful failure to file a form.

There is a bit of arrogance with 'Hollywood' types that doesn't sit well with game developers.

A lot of the cats I grew up with in the South Bronx found themselves in sticky situations.

I come out of repertory theatre so I've been working under pressure my whole career.

Personally I find there is just as much if not more creativity among game makers as there is among feature filmmakers.

A lot of people now don't know I've been on Broadway.

I've been a law-abiding citizen ever since I grew up in the Bronx, New York.

I had faith in the concept and the theory that all Americans are endowed with the right to a fair trial and I would be fairly judged and fairly tried.

I have some cops in my family. I understand the predicament that they're in. Sometimes they go into it just to pay the bills or because they don't have other choices, or sometimes they just want to get the gun.

I think that all of us, as Americans, are due due process and have a right to a fair trial, and have a right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. I think that is the American way and it's the foundation upon which this country was built.

I like to read about different religions - Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

In film you have the script months ahead of time often, for a good film, but in television it seems like you might not get the script until a week or two weeks before you've got to film it. It's a little weird, but also quite challenging. It reminds me of repertory theatre.

I never really planned on making action films. It just kind of happened.

I didn't defraud the government by taking money that was not mine.

I've been trying to keep the private life private. Not being savvy or trained on how to do good interviews like a politician, I thought it was wiser to follow my mother's advice: If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all.

I used to do puppet theatre and also mime and musical theatre in Florida for competitions and festivals, which was great. I was very much involved in theatre when I was in college.

I didn't go into this business to do action because I'm a classically trained actor. But I'm good at kicking and punching.

People wanted to move to America because of Michael Jackson. Industry changed, the music industry changed, because of Michael Jackson. That's a gift to us, and, you know, I am concerned that the Good Lord may not send another one because we did not take good care of him.

I was very short when I was little, so I probably had - and there may be a residue of it now - that Napoleon complex. Wanting to be as big and as powerful as the big guys.

I have a whole other side that has yet to be seen on screen.

You can put a cat in an oven, but that don't make it a biscuit.

In the beginning, all I wanted to do was to be a singer and a dancer. That was my real groove, my real interest. When it came to doing films, my biggest goal was to do a commercial.

Nobody wants to get locked up, although 'locked up' is a matter of perspective. There can be people who are out who are in prison mentally and emotionally and worse off than those who are behind bars.

Certain roles are more challenging than others, but I haven't come across one yet that I can't tackle.