Jimmie Fails

Jimmie Fails is an actor and filmmaker best known for his lead role in the semi-autobiographical film The Last Black Man in San Francisco.

Fails was born and raised in San Fransisco, CA, where he lived in the predominantly Black middle-class Fillmore district of San Francisco until he was three years old. After his grandfather died, however, his house was foreclosed on because his relatives could not afford the expense, and he spent the remainder of his childhood in foster care and public housing. Only he and his father remained in the city; the rest of the relatives moved out.

Growing up, Fails met Joe Talbot at the neighborhood park that divided their neighborhoods. They soon became close friends and first began making short movies together during high school. Their short film, Last Stop Livermore, made in collaboration with Joe's brother, Nat, was a finalist in the Golden Gate Award. Their second official short, American Paradise, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Talbot and Fails conceived of the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco as teenagers and in 2015, they created a Kickstarter campaign to fund it. Danny Glover, a San Francisco native, called Fails directly to express his interest in the film.

The film is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of a fictionalized version of Fails, played by the actor, who attempts to reclaim a Victorian home built by his grandfather in a gentrified area of San Francisco. The film was Fails' first professional acting role, receiving positive critical reviews.

In 2019, Talbot formed a production company called Longshot Features with Fails.