Mario Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for appearing in Heartbreak Ridge in 1986 and known for directing and starring in New Jack City in 1991 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016.

Van Peebles' first screen appearance was in 1968, in the soap opera One Life to Live.

In 1971, he appeared in the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.

Melvin Van Peebles directed and played the lead role, and Mario played his father's character as a child.

The film became a hit and a historical American film, because it was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable black audience existed and thus influenced the creation of the Blaxploitation genre.

That year, Mario acted in a TV movie called Crosscurrent.

For the rest of the decade, he did not appear in other productions.

In 1981, Van Peebles acted in the miniseries The Sophisticated Gents.

He appeared in the action film Exterminator 2 (1984), as the main villain against its protagonist, played by Robert Ginty.

When the production wrapped, the producers were unhappy and wanted a re-shoot.

They replaced the original director, but the main star was no longer available so they made Van Peebles' character more central.

That same year, Van Peebles appeared as a dancer in Francis Ford Coppola's movie The Cotton Club.

In 1985, he landed his first leading role in the film Rappin' as Rappin' John Hood, an ex-convict who attempts to save his neighborhood from developers and hoodlums.

In 1985, he played in the comedy Delivery Boys, was one of the central characters in the action drama South Bronx Heroes, and acted in the dramatic TV film Children of the Night and one episode of the Cosby Show.

In 1986, he acted in the urban action film 3:15, the comedy Last Resort, the TV film D.C. Cops, four episodes of L.A. Law, and the Clint Eastwood military film Heartbreak Ridge based on the United States Marine Corps.

In 1987, he played in the sport film Hotshot, the TV film The Facts of Life Down Under, and Jaws: The Revenge, the fourth installment of the Jaws franchise.

In 1988, Van Peebles played the lead in the short-lived detective show Sonny Spoon.

The show ran for two brief seasons, both of which aired in 1988 before the series was canceled.

The show would mark his directorial debut, for which he tackled the task for one episode.

That same year, he also acted in the TV film The Child Saver.

In 1989, he directed for the show Top of the Hill, three episodes of 21 Jump Street, two of which he acted in, and an episode of the TV series Wiseguy.

He also acted in one episode of American Playwrights Theater: The One-Acts, and the film Identity Crisis directed by his father.

At the beginning of the 1990s he performed in the TV film Blue Bayou and one episode of In Living Color.

Van Peebles directed Malcolm Takes a Shot, a 1991 CBS Schoolbreak Special about an aspiring high-school basketball star whose obstacles include epilepsy and his own arrogance.

Van Peebles appeared in the special in a cameo appearance as the main character's doctor.

He was nominated for a DGA Award by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows".

He made his feature film directorial debut in 1991 with the black gangster film New Jack City, in which he also co-stars.

Other lead actors are Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Judd Nelson.

New Jack City was produced with an estimated $8,000,000 budget.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1991, before being released nationally on March 8, 1991.

Well received by critics, it grossed $7,039,622 during its opening weekend, and was the highest grossing independent film of 1991, grossing a total of $47,624,253 domestically.

That same year, he directed one episode of Gabriel's Fire and acted in the TV film A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story.

In 1992, he acted in two TV films: In the Line of Duty: Street War and Stompin' at the Savoy.

In 1993, he starred in and directed the black Western Posse, featuring a large ensemble cast including Woody Strode, Billy Zane, Tiny Lister, Tone Lōc, Big Daddy Kane, Robert Hooks, and many more.

The film tells the story of a posse of black soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel.

He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss!, which he also co-wrote and directed.

Mario Van Peebles was born in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of writer, director, actor and musician Melvin Van Peebles and Maria Marx.

He travelled often with his parents between Europe and the United States.

He majored in economics at Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University.

He was invited to speak as the Class Day Speaker as part of the annual commencement exercises in 2021.