Wesley Snipes was a major player in the action movie scene in the 1990s after first breaking through in 1989’s “Major League” before going onto films like “Mo’ Better Blues” in 1990 and “New Jack City” in 1991.
Before all that though, back in early 1987, casting was underway for the series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with one of the parts being for the role of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s chief engineer Geordi La Forge.
Of course, that part ultimately went to “Roots” star LeVar Burton and became a career-defining role for the actor, playing the part across seven seasons and four movies. Yet one rumor that has long swirled is that Snipes was up for the role.
Speaking with Collider recently to promote his role as the villain General Izzi in the recent “Coming 2 America” release on Amazon, Snipes confirmed he did audition for the part and was very disappointed at the time he missed out. Even so, he’s happy with how things turned out:
“Yes, that is true. I think that was in the eighties. Yeah. And I was disappointed that I didn’t get it. Not as disappointed as I was not getting the role in the first Coming to America, but that actually turned out pretty good. Because I think if I had gotten the [Geordi] role that I would have been in television more than film, and maybe would have been never got a chance to do everything else I’ve done.”
Asked how close he came to getting cast as La Forge and if he was in the final few names under consideration, he said:
“Yes. That’s how I remember it. Yeah. It was close. But yeah, a greater actor than I went on to make it famous. I applaud him, my friend, great and wonderful.”
The other role he refers to there in the original “Coming to America” is the Darryl role that “ER” actor Eriq La Salle ultimately won. Ultimately though Snipes and Burton have both had successful careers, Snipes recently drew raves for his “Coming 2 America” work while Burton is currently among the most popular candidates to serve as a new permanent host for “Jeopardy”.
