Jimmie Fails (born November 10, 1994) is an American actor. His feature film debut was the titular role in the semi-autobiographical movie ''

The Last Black Man in San Francisco ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' is a 2019 American drama film directed and produced by Joe Talbot in his directorial debut. He wrote the screenplay with Rob Richert and the story with Jimmie Fails, on whose life it is partly based. It s ...

'' (2019).

Life and career

Fails was born and raised in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Until he was three years old he lived in a Victorian house that his grandfather, a Baptist preacher, had bought in the predominantly Black middle-class

Fillmore district The Fillmore District is a historical neighborhood in San Francisco located to the southwest of Nob Hill, west of Market Street and north of the Mission District.Oaks, Robert F. San Francisco's Fillmore District. lectronic resource n.p.: Charles ...

of San Francisco. After his grandfather died, the 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. Fails attended

Archbishop Riordan High School Archbishop Riordan High School is a diocesan, co-ed Catholic high school established by the Society of Mary in San Francisco, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It opened in fall 1949 as Riordan High Schoo ...

and later attended college but left after one year. Growing up, Fails met Joe Talbot at the 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 Awards. Their second, official short ''American Paradise'' premiered at the

2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – ''I Don't Feel at ...

. Talbot and Fails conceived of the film ''

'' as teenagers, and the pair eventually created a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign in 2015 to fund it.

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

, 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. ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' received positive critical reception. In 2019, Talbot and Fails formed a production company called Longshot Features.

Personal life

Fails resides in San Francisco.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fails, Jimmie Living people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American male actors Male actors from San Francisco African-American actors African-American film producers 1994 births