LEWIS RUN, Pa. - Actor Wesley Snipes began serving a three-year sentence at a federal prison in Pennsylvania on Thursday for failure to file income tax returns.

Snipes, 48, arrived shortly before noon at the Federal Correctional Institution McKean in the tiny northwestern Pennsylvania town of Lewis Run, federal prisons spokesman Ed Ross said. He had been ordered to surrender by noon.

The minimum security prison camp is worlds away from the harsh prison fortresses depicted in the Snipes' films "Undisputed" and "Brooklyn's Finest." The minimum-security camp doesn't have fences around its perimeter.

The 300 nonviolent inmates live in barracks that feature two-man rooms, daily showers and double-feature movie showings Friday through Sunday. Alas, no NC-17, R or X ratings allowed, which knocks out much of Snipes' action-heavy repertoire.

The most jarring aspect of the celebrity's stay might be the five daily head counts, three during the overnight hours. And Snipes, who earned a reported $13 million for the "Blade: Trinity" sequel, will have to adjust to earning just pennies an hour handling kitchen, laundry or other campus chores. He can spend just $290 a month at the prison commissary.

Snipes has appeared in dozens of studio films, from "White Men Can't Jump" and "Demolition Man" in the early 1990s to the blockbuster Blade trilogy.

None of which will score him any points at McKean, officials insist.

"We recognize that he is high profile, but we treat all our inmates the same," spokeswoman Shirley White told The Associated Press last week.

According to U.S. prosecutors, the actor failed to file any tax returns for at least a decade, and owed $2.7 million in taxes on $13.8 million in income from 1999 to 2001 alone.

Snipes, a dues-paying member of a tax-protest group that challenges the government's right to collect taxes, described himself at his 2008 sentencing as a naive truth-seeker.

"I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," said Snipes, who had pursued theater and dance from an early age, attending the vaunted High School for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Tuesday night, he told CNN's "Larry King Live" that he was not nervous about reporting to prison.

Star of the "Blade" trilogy, Snipes was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income tax returns.

On Wednesday, he made a last-minute request for a new trial, but on Thursday a judge in Florida rejected the emergency motion. Snipes had argued said that a judge erred by not allowing defense attorneys to interview jurors about misconduct allegations, but U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said the motion merely re-argues issues that have already been decided.

At McKean, he can pursue his spirituality at weekly meetings of nearly any religious group imaginable, from Wiccans to Jehovah's Witnesses to Spanish-speaking Evangelical Catholics.

The martial-arts enthusiast can get his exercise playing sand volleyball or indoor basketball, or work out on an elliptical machine or stair climber. And he can tap into his fun side through badminton, bocci or bridge.

Should he pull a muscle in a pickup game, the infirmary copay is just $2.

But it's not all fun and games.

The daily wake-up call is at 6:35 a.m. The mundane jobs run seven hours a day. There's little fashion flair to the prison-issued khakis. And contact in the visitors room is limited to "a kiss," according to the prison handbook.

Snipes has tried to delay his arrival while he takes his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the trial judge said he had gotten a fair trial.

Hodges saw in Snipes "a history of contempt" for U.S. tax laws, the judge said at sentencing.

Never mind that the actor, changing course, had delivered $5 million in checks to the IRS that day. Hodges imposed consecutive one-year terms for the three misdemeanor convictions.

"Someday, every fighter loses," says the prison boxer Monroe Hutchens, played by Snipes, in 2002's "Undisputed." "In the end, everybody gets beaten. The most you can hope for is that you stay on top a while."

Omenani:

And the sad part about this is that he actually paid the $5 million dollars back. The judge was harsh to give him 3 years in jail even after he paid his debt.

I think it is, because he was black. They did the same thing to Michael Vick.

Omenani:

And the sad part about this is that he actually paid the $5 million dollars back. The judge was harsh to give him 3 years in jail even after he paid his debt.

I think it is, because he was black. They did the same thing to Michael Vick.

Omenani:

And the sad part about this is that he actually paid the $5 million dollars back. The judge was harsh to give him 3 years in jail even after he paid his debt.

I think it is, because he was black. They did the same thing to Michael Vick.

leonaidas:

why are u all sounding as if the man is dead? Ignorance is not an excuse.

SeanT21:

Oh God, stop it.

violent:

stop it dammit!

he did what was wrong plain and simple!

houvest:

The US no dey play with their Tax o. They wan use am set example to other hollywood and celebrity tax-dodgers. Pele Snipes. You were one of my favourite hollywood stars. Hope you will come out and bounce back to make another US Marshals, Passenger 57, 7 seconds, Liberty stands still, Rising Sun, Blade trilogy, murder at 1600, etc. Please do not try to act 'Undisputed' in Jail inspite of your Karate skills because film na film nobi reality. I will miss you and your intelligent and extraordinary displays shaa for these three years. We dey wait.

denony:

I will surely miss my man and our brother
have u people forgotten that he is from Edo state?

three years is a long way

3kay945:

i will surely miss the dude,  i like him. this is why i always cherish the american laws. no respecter once you go against the laws.

buzugee:

he will be out in 2 absolute bollocks. the law does not apply to white women or most white men. paris hilton and lindsey lohan would have been locked up for 20 years now had they being minorities. consuming drugs while driving, drinking and driving, escaping the scene of an accident, numerous drug possession charges, breaking the conditions of their suspended sentence, are just a few of their infarctions

ladej:

5 cant disagree with this. add pete doherty to the list[ex boyfriend of kate moss], who has gone to court more times than ive gone to the loo, but still no jail time. i appreciate the cases and the gravity are different but u cant help wondering if one law exists for blacks and another for whites even in 2010. having said that snipes is guilty and must pay the time.

Princek12:

I disagree to an extent. I think a black person with deep pockets, just like the aforementioned celebs, who hires a good lawyer, will probably get like treatment from those judges, for they are all considered petty state crimes.

Wesley snipes violated several federal laws, such as willful failure to pay taxes, perjury, and so on. No one messes with the Internal Revenue Service, whether white or black. They will show you pepper.

ladej:

5 cant disagree with this. add pete doherty to the list[ex boyfriend of kate moss], who has gone to court more times than ive gone to the loo, but still no jail time. i appreciate the cases and the gravity are different but u cant help wondering if one law exists for blacks and another for whites even in 2010. having said that snipes is guilty and must pay the time.

buzugee:

really ? can you explain why[b] nicolas cage[/b], aaron carter and willie nelson did not see any jail time ?

and can you explain why plaxico burress is in jail for 3 years for a misdeameanor despite being a rich black man ?

buzugee:

pete docherty still raisin hell in england ?? . yeah different set of laws for blacks and whites in america. dunno bout england though. england is a very humane country. most judges in england usually dont slam down on minorities.