Mario Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles is an actor, director and producer. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles. He is best known for directing the action gangster film New Jack City.

Van Peebles was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles and German photographer and actress Maria Marx. He made his first appearance on film in his father's film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, where he played a younger version of his father. The film is credited with the creation of the Blaxploitation genre.

After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in economics, Mario began to pursue a career as an actor. He made appearances in multiple television shows and films, including Exterminator 2, Children of the Night, L.A. Law, the Clint Eastwood film Heartbreak Ridge and Jaws: The Revenge.

Mario's early directorial efforts began in television. His directorial debut was an episode of the detective show "Sonny Spoon." He has also directed episodes of "Top of the Hill," "Wiseguy," "Empire," "Nashville," "In Living Color" and "21 Jump Street." His breakthrough as a director came with his feature film debut, New Jack City.

In addition to directing New Jack City, Van Peebles also co-stars in the film alongside Wesley Snipes and Ice-T. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. New Jack City went on to become the highest grossing independent film of 1991, earning over $47 million domestically on an $8 million budget. The film received favorable reception from both critics and audiences.

Mario continued to act after directing New Jack City. He has over 100 acting credits to his name. Mario often acts in the films that he directs, including Panther, Posse and the docudrama Baadasssss!.

Baadasssss! describes the making of Melvin Van Peebles' film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, and he once again portrays his father. At the 2005 Black Reel Awards, he was nominated for Best Actor, won Best Director, won Best Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Film, and the actress Joy Bryant was nominated Best Supporting Actress. The film also earned Van Peebles three nominations at 2005 Independent Spirit Awards, and two nominations at 2005 NAACP Image Awards.