Mario Cain Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American actor and director. He is the son of Melvin Van Peebles, whom he played in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss!, which he also co-wrote, produced, and directed. He also starred in Heartbreak Ridge (1986), New Jack City (1991), and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016), the latter two of which he had directed.
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Early life and education
Mario Van Peebles was born on January 15, 1957, in Mexico City, Mexico, to Melvin Van Peebles and Maria Marx. After graduating from St. Thomas More School in 1974, he received his BA at Columbia University and was also invited to speak as the Class Day Speaker as part of the annual commencement exercises in 2021.
Career
1968 to 1971: First roles
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 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 also acted in a television film called Crosscurrent.
For the rest of the decade, he did not appear in other productions.
1981 to 1985: Subsequent roles and first lead
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.
1985 to 1991: continued acting career and early directorial effort to breakthrough
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 and final 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.
1992 to 2009: Subsequent success
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, Tommy Lister, Jr., Tone Loc, 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. That same year, he played in the science fiction crime film Full Eclipse with Patsy Kensit and Bruce Payne.
In 1994, he collaborated twice with actor Christopher Lambert; they played the side by side leads in the action film Gunmen, and he was the main villain in Highlander III: The Sorcerer, the third installment of the Highlander film series. He also acted in a film called In the Living Years.
In 1995, he directed and co-starred in Panther based on a screenplay adapted by his father, Melvin, from his novel of the same name portraying the Black Panther Party, tracing the organization from its founding through its decline in a compressed timeframe. Creative license is taken but the general trajectory of the Party and its experiences is factual. At the Locarno International Film Festival it won the prize of the Ecumenical Jury, a Silver Leopard, and was nominated for a Golden Leopard. At the Political Film Society it was nominated for a PFS Award.
In 1996, he acted in one episode of Living Single and one episode of HBO's Strangers. He also played the lead in the science fiction action film Solo. His directorial release that year was Gang in Blue, in which he stars and co-directs with his father who also has a role in the film. It's about a black police officer who discovers a cell of white supremacist vigilantes within his department.
In 1997, he acted in one episode of The X-Files, and in the films Stag, Riot, and Los Locos, the first American film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.
In 1998, he directed and starred in Love Kills, a comedy about a masseur who gets mixed up in the family plots at the mansion of a recently deceased Beverly Hills millionaire. He also appeared in the mini series Mama Flora's Family, Valentine's Day, and Killers in the House.
2010 to present day
In 2010, he acted in two films Multiple Sarcasms and Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright. He directed one episode of Lost, the documentary Fair Game?, and the film Redemption Road.
In 2011, he directed the sport drama All Things Fall Apart starring rapper/actor 50 Cent in the title role playing a football player who suffers from a deadly disease; Van Peebles also played a role in this feature. Other acting credits that year were the films Tied to a Chair and 5th & Alameda, on TV, two episodes of Hellcats and two episodes of The Game, and he started to direct for the TV series Boss directing five episodes until 2012.
In 2012, he wrote, directed, and acted in We the Party, a comedy set in an ethnically diverse Los Angeles high school. The film focuses on five friends as they deal with romance, money, prom, college, sex, bullies, Facebook, fitting in, standing out, and finding themselves. Also that year, he acted in one episode of The Finder and the feature film American Warships.
In 2013, he directed one episode NCIS, one episode of Monday Mornings, one episode of Zero Hour, and an episode of Nashville and in 2014 he directed two additional episodes of Nashville as well as acting in one, in 2015, he reprised his role with another director.
In 2014, Van Peebles wrote, directed, and acted in Red Sky, an action/thriller film starring Cam Gigandet, Shane West, and Rachael Leigh Cook. He also directed three episodes of Once Upon a Time, and that year, he acted in two other films Mantervention and Drumline: A New Beat.
In 2015, he directed one episode of The Last Ship, one episode of Chicago P.D., and two episodes of Empire.
In 2016, he directed another episode of Empire and two episodes of Being Mary Jane. Also in the same year, he directed the film USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, based largely on the true story of the loss of the ship in the closing stages of the Second World War, starring Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, and Thomas Jane.
Activism
In 2014, Van Peebles filmed a public service video supporting the District of Columbia statehood movement. His advocacy is part of DC Shadow Senator Paul Strauss’ “51 Stars" campaign which aims to enlist 51 celebrities to endorse making Washington, D.C. the 51st state.
Filmography
Stage
Waltz of the Stork (1982)