Wesley Snipes says he learned some important lessons in prison and ‘came out a clearer person’
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A decade after having the book thrown at him for tax evasion, Wesley Snipes is reflecting what he learned during his time behind bars.
“I came out a clearer person,” the actor told The Guardian during an interview published this week. “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.”
“The biggest thing I got from it was learning the value of time and how we often squander it,” Snipes furthered. “I understand that very clearly now, having been away from my family and loved ones two and a half years.”
The 58-year-old “Blade” star was sentenced to three years in prison back in 2008 and fined $5 million for willfully failing to file millions of dollars' worth of past tax returns.
After an appeal was denied, he began his sentence at a federal prison that December 2010 and released in April 2013.
“I hope I came out a better person,” he stated.
Taking accountability for his actions was also a takeaway from the legal ordeal.
“I made decisions. I accept the ramifications of those decisions. No one forced me to take that person as my accountant; no one forced me to take that person as my lawyer,” Snipes explained. “No one forced me to believe what they were saying. That was on me. I don’t have time to sit back and say I was wronged and recapture all that was lost.”
Snipes now has a more optimistic outlook in the entire experience.
“I understand so much more,” he said. “And if two and a half years of my life were in meditation and isolation up at that camp out of the 100 I plan on living, good deal. Good deal.”
Since serving the bid, Snipes' acting credits include 2014 1/4 u2032s “The Expendables 3” and Spike Lee’s 2015 Amazon film “Chi-Raq.” Last year, he starred opposite Eddie Murphy in Netflix’s “Dolemite Is My Name.”
Next month, he will star in the highly anticipated sequel to “Coming to America,” set to premiere Dec. 18 on Amazon.
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