Jimmie Fails is an American actor and writer who struck stardom with the semi-autobiographical film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) in which he played a fictionalized version of himself Jimmie Fails.
Wiki/Biography
Jimmie Fails was born on Thursday, November 10, 1994 (age 26 years; as of 2020), in San Francisco, California. During his childhood, Fails lived in a three-story Victorian-style house in the Fillmore District, a historical neighborhood in San Francisco, along with his extended family. Jimmie Fails’ grandfather was a preacher in a Baptist church. Later, after the death of his grandfather, Jimmie and his family were evicted from their house as they could no longer afford its expenses and maintenance. After the eviction, Jimmie’s family spread out all over the country, and he spent his childhood in various foster care and housing projects. In an interview, he said,
The only place where my family was kind of all together and all lived as one…The house, when we lost it, it was like we never really had that again.”
Jimmie Fails studied at Archbishop Riordan High School, San Francisco, California.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family & Ethnicity
Jimmie Fails belongs to an African-American family. [1]NPR
Parents & Siblings
Not much is known about his parents.
Relationships, Wife & Children
Not much is known about his relationships.
Career
In 2019, Jimmie Fails made his film debut with the American drama film ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ in which he played the role of Jimmie Fails, a young Black man who makes effort to reclaim his childhood home, which is now an expensive Victorian-style house in San Francisco.
In 2020, he appeared in Netflix’s drama film Pieces of a Woman in which he played the role of Max.
Awards/Honors
- Won Marlon Riggs Award (2019) at San Francisco Film Critics Circle along with filmmaker
Joe Talbot
- Won New Generation Award (2019) at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) along with filmmaker Joe Talbot, and co-actor Jonathan Majors
- Nominated for GWNYFCA Award (2019) in the category of ‘Breakthrough Performance’ at the ‘Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards’ for the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
- Nominated for Gotham Independent Film Award (2019) for the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), along with filmmaker Joe Talbot, and producer Rob Richert.
- Nominated for Chlotrudis Award (2020) in the categories of Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.
- Nominated for Black Reel Awards (2020) in the categories of Outstanding Actor, and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance (Male)
Facts/Trivia
- Jimmie Fails is an occasional smoker.
- Jimmie Fails has the same name as his grandfather. In an interview, he said
My grandpa has always been one of my idols. I always heard great stories about him…I wanted to be like him…he was well-known, he was a preacher at the main sort of baptist church…that’s very significant for me, we got the same name too, I guess I am the fourth…so I always wanted to build some sort of legacy around that name.”
- Jimmie Fails met Joe Talbot, the co-writer and director of the film, in a park during their teenage days. Jimmie shared his real-life story with Joe, which later became the inspiration for the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). First, they shot a concept trailer, a five-minute piece that showcased the summary of the storyline, and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the film. Thereafter, it took them five consecutive years to complete the film.
- Before starring in the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), Jimmie Fails starred in the short films Last Stop Livermore (2012) and American Paradise (2017). The film Last Stop Livermore (2012) earned recognition at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and American Paradise (2017) went on to win the title of Best Narrative Short honors at the Nashville Film Festival.
References [ + ]
| 1. | ↑ | NPR |