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 ...