30 Surprising Facts About Ving Rhames You Probably Didn’t Know

Ving Rhames, one of the most iconic and pioneer actors, is known for his deep booming voice. The actor, who often takes up some really challenging roles, can be mostly seen wearing colorful, often oversized, unusual hats on his fully shaved head. His characters are famous for using metaphors to express their feelings and opinions. Here are some interesting facts about the actor, whose generosity is world renowned:

"Ving Rhames" by Chris Yarzab is licensed under CC BY 2.0

1.  In the year 1998, his performance in HBO’s “Don King: Only in America” earned him a Golden Globe for best actor in a TV miniseries. But he gave his award to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon at the ceremony.
2.  He stated that “being an artist is about giving,” and thus gave the award to Lemmon. The audience, who were clearly touched, gave Lemmon a standing ovation.
3.  This particular moment was ranked at #98 on the E! Magazine’s list of “101 Awesome Moments in Entertainment.” He was lauded by The New York Times, stating that by giving the award away, he “demonstrated his capacity for abundant generosity.”
4.  Despite trying many times, Lemmon was unsuccessful in giving the award back to Rhames. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced later that a duplicate award was prepared for Rhames.
5.  Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames was born on May 12, 1959 to Ernest Rhames and Reather Rhames in Harlem, New York City. He was named after NBC journalist Irving R. Levine.
6.  His father was an auto mechanic, while his mother was a homemaker. His parents were raised as sharecroppers in South Carolina.
7.  During the filming of The Saint of Fort Washington in New York City, in the year 1993, he unexpectedly met a homeless man, who was actually his long-lost brother Junior.
8.  After serving in Vietnam, Junior had lost contact with his family. Ving was thrilled to find his brother, and immediately assisted him in getting proper food and clothing, and also helped him in moving into his own apartment.
9.  He developed his love for acting, and decided to choose acting as a career, when he entered New York’s High School of Performing Arts.
10.  He studied acting for two years as a part of the class of 1982 at the State University of New York Purchase (SUNY Purchase). It was here that he was given the nickname “Ving” by his roommate Stanley Tucci.

"In Memory of Davo" by ATOMIC Hot Links is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

11.  Rhames graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 12) in the year 1983.
12.  He was cast in the role as Luther Strickell in the “Mission: Impossible” movie by the producers as they felt that he looked the exact opposite of what a hacker would normally look like.
13.  As a part of the preparation for his role as George in the 1990 movie “Jacob’s Ladder,” he, along with the other cast members, underwent a 5-day military boot camp under the guidance of former US marine Dale Dye.
14.  Just as he heard the news of a remake of the 1978 movie “Dawn of the Dead” being in production, he reportedly tracked down the producers of the movie, to get the role of Kenneth.
15.  It was reported that when he approached the producers about a role in the movie, he had simply stated that “I want to be in this movie, because the black guy lives. However, he had been the director Zack Snyder’s first choice for the part of Kenneth.
16.  He was offered a role of Sergeant Cass in the 1994 movie “Renaissance Man,” but he had to turn it down to take up the role of Marsellus Wallace in the movie “Pulp Fiction.”
17.  “Pulp Fiction” movie’s director Quentin Tarantino, who was Rhames’ close friend, has specifically written the role of Marsellus Wallace, with Rhames in mind. So he gave the role of Sergeant Cass in “Renaissance Man” to Gregory Hines.
18.  In the 2001 movie “Baby Boy,” he claimed that he based his character Melvin “Mel” mostly on the life of former Crip gang member Kevin “Big Cat” Doucette.
19.  His character Luther Stickell’s line “It’s that simple, huh?” from the 2000 movie “Mission: Impossible II” was actually a joke about the 1996 movie “Mission: Impossible,” which received wide criticisms for having an “overly complicated” plot.

"In Memory of Davo" by ATOMIC Hot Links is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

20.  Rhames had been training hard for nearly two years to get into shape for a role in a biopic movie about a boxing legend, but the project fell through and he was about to quit training.
21.  However, the script of the 2002 movie “Undisputed” was sent to him by director Walter Hill, and he immediately called back asking for the role of George “Iceman” Chambers. Just as the role was offered, he continued with his training.
22.  In the 2004 movie “Dawn of the Dead,” for the scene in which Ana stitched Kenneth’s wounds, the director Zack Snyder hired a real nurse to make the close-ups even more genuine.
23.  However, Snyder’s directions to go deeper, was misunderstood by the real nurse, and inadvertently punctured Rhames’ skin and stitched the prosthesis to his arm for real, to the extent that it was bleeding.
24.  Still, Rhames did not even say anything to anyone, including the nurse, until after the filming of the scene was completed. Snyder has misunderstood the bleeding to have been merely “a really good effect” to the scene.
25.  In the movie “Jacob’s Ladder,” in the scene about masturbation, most of the conversation between his character George and Jacob, was actually improvised on spot by the actors, as stated by the director Adrian Lyne.
26.  During the filming of the 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction,” he once accidentally cut himself in the neck while shaving, and had to cover it up using a band-aid, which the audience related to the allusion of Devil stealing Marsellus’ soul.
27.  Since the very first movie – “Mission: Impossible” in 1996, in the “MI” series, the leading actor Tom Cruise and Rhames are the only fixed actors, having been cast even in the upcoming seventh and eighth installment in the series.
28.  He married Valerie Scott in the year 1994, but after five years together, the couple divorced in 1999. He met Deborah Reed in 2000, and got married to her in a private ceremony. The couple has a son and a daughter, together.
29.  The 1993 movie “The Saint of Fort Washington” was supposed to be a documentary, as the scenes of Rhames and his company robbing and beating people at the homeless shelter, based on the real-life events that happen in most shelters.
30.  In fact, even before the movie entered the pre-production stage, director Tim Hunter spoke to Officer Devon Riley, to arrange for Rhames to meet him in person, as a part of his preparation for the role as Little Leroy.
31.  Ving Rhames Net Worth: $25 Million