Cuba Gooding Jr.
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 2, 1968 (age 58)
- Birthplace
- The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. He was born in Bronx, New York to Shirley, a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient. He has two brothers, musician Tommy Gooding and fellow actor Omar Gooding, and sister, April Gooding. His family moved to Los Angeles after Gooding Sr.'s music group had a hit single with "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972 but abandoned his family two years later. Gooding Jr. was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools: North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School, and John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills in Los Angeles. He served as class president in three of them. His first job as a professional entertainer was as a break-dancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. After high school, Gooding studied Japanese martial arts for three years, before turning his focus toward acting. Early on, he landed guest starring roles on shows like Hill Street Blues (1981) and MacGyver (1985). His first major role was in the John Singleton's box office surprise and critical hit Boyz n the Hood (1991). He followed this success with roles in major films like A Few Good Men (1992), Lightning Jack (1994), Outbreak (1995), Men of Honor (2000), Rat Race (2001), and The Fighting Temptations (2003) in which he co-starred alongside Beyoncé Knowles. In 1996, he was cast as an arrogant football player on the brink of a career-ending injury in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996). The film was a success and earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the film became a nationwide catchphrase. In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful; Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. Gooding also starred in a film titled A Murder of Crows, which he co-produced with his long time friend and business partner Derek Broes. The film was Gooding's first attempt at producing. Since then, he has had series of starring roles in grittier films released direct-to-DVD such as the revenge dramas Hero Wanted and Wrong Turn at Tahoe, as well as the sci-fi action pic Hardwired and the action comedy Lies & Illusions. A well-received performance as Ben Carson in Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) and a small supporting role in Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007) both proved to be exceptions to this trend. An appearance in the World War II film, Red Tails, produced by George Lucas and with other prominent actors such as Terrence Howard, will mark his only return to the big screen since American Gangster.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Break the Cycle
Movie
Giving Thanks
Movie · as Calvin
Above the Break
Movie · as Frank Kitner
The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty
Movie
Padilla
Movie
Lotus
Movie
Angels in Darkness
Movie · as Father Thomas
Quantum Supremacy
Movie · as Captain Marcus Monroe
Atlas King
Movie
Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws
Movie · as Sheriff Jacobs
A Line of Fire
Movie · as Javier Cardona
The Firing Squad
Movie · as Samuel Wilson
Skeletons in the Closet
Movie · as Andres
TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
Movie · as Balthazar
The Weapon
Movie · as Blue
For NYC
Movie
Life in a Year
Movie · as Xavier
Bayou Caviar
Movie · as Rodney Jones
American Crime Story
TV · as O. J. Simpson · 10 eps
John Bishop: In Conversation with...
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Book of Negroes
TV · as Sam Fraunces · 6 eps
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
TV · as Cuba Gooding Jr. · 10 eps
Empire
TV · as Puma · 1 ep
Freedom
Movie · as Samuel
Selma
Movie · as Fred Gray
Machete Kills
Movie · as El Camaleón 2
The Butler
Movie · as Carter Wilson
Summoned
Movie · as Detective Callendar
Life of a King
Movie · as Eugene Brown
Absolute Deception
Movie · as John Nelson
Don Jon
Movie · as Hollywood Actor #2
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit
Movie · as Shadoweyes
The Last Leg
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Red Tails
Movie · as Major Emanuelle Stance
Firelight
Movie · as DJ
One in the Chamber
Movie · as Ray Carver
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Ticking Clock
Movie · as Lewis Hicks
Sacrifice
Movie · as John Hebron
The Hit List
Movie · as Jonas Arbor
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'
Movie · as Self
American Horror Story
TV · as Dominic Banks · 10 eps
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Movie · as (archive footage)
Conan
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Hardwired
Movie · as Luke Gibson
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Movie · as Ben Carson
Lies & Illusions
Movie · as Isaac
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
Movie · as Joshua
The Way of War
Movie · as David Wolfe
The Devil's Tomb
Movie · as Mack
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV · as Self - Guest · 3 eps
Harold
Movie · as Cromer
Linewatch
Movie · as Michael Dixon
Hero Wanted
Movie · as Liam Case
Lily Allen and Friends
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
American Gangster
Movie · as Nicky Barnes
Norbit
Movie · as Deion Hughes
What Love Is
Movie · as Tom
Daddy Day Camp
Movie · as Charlie Hinton
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
Movie · as Loofah (voice)
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
Movie · as Self
The Graham Norton Show
TV · as Self · 4 eps
End Game
Movie · as Agent Alex Thomas
Dirty
Movie · as Salim Adel
Shadowboxer
Movie · as Mikey
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
TV · as Self · 1 ep
A Dairy Tale
Movie · as Buck (voice)
Home on the Range
Movie · as Buck (voice)
The Fighting Temptations
Movie · as Darrin Hill
Radio
Movie · as Radio
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend
Movie · as Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Snow Dogs
Movie · as Ted Brooks
Boat Trip
Movie · as Jerry Robinson
Making Rat Race
Movie · as Himself
V Graham Norton
TV · as Self · 1 ep
SlamBall
TV · 18 eps
Pearl Harbor
Movie · as Dorie Miller
Zoolander
Movie · as Cuba Gooding Jr.
In the Shadows
Movie · as Draven
America: A Tribute to Heroes
Movie · as Self
Rat Race
Movie · as Owen Templeton
Men of Honor
Movie · as Senior Chief Carl Brashear
Welcome to Hollywood
Movie · as Cuba Gooding Jr.
Chill Factor
Movie · as Arlo
Instinct
Movie · as Dr. Theo Caulder
A Murder of Crows
Movie · as Lawson Russell
What Dreams May Come
Movie · as Albert Lewis
As Good as It Gets
Movie · as Frank Sachs
Trading Favors
Movie · as Liquor Store Clerk
The View
TV · as Self · 4 eps
Jerry Maguire
Movie · as Rod Tidwell
The Daily Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Outbreak
Movie · as Major Salt
The Tuskegee Airmen
Movie · as Billy Roberts
Losing Isaiah
Movie · as Eddie Hughes
MADtv
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Lightning Jack
Movie · as Ben Doyle
Blown Away
Movie · as Bomb Squad Class Member
Judgment Night
Movie · as Mike Peterson
Daybreak
Movie · as Torch
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
The Untouchables
TV · 1 ep
A Few Good Men
Movie · as Cpl. Carl Hammaker
Judgement
Movie · as Officer Alvarez
Gladiator
Movie · as Abraham Lincoln Haines
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story
Movie · as Tyree
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV · 2 eps
Boyz n the Hood
Movie · as Tré Styles
Nasty Boys
TV · as Poptop · 3 eps
Sing
Movie · as Stanley
Mancuso, F.B.I.
TV · 1 ep
Coming to America
Movie · as Boy Getting Haircut
The Bronx Zoo
TV · 1 ep
227
TV · 1 ep
MacGyver
TV · as Billy Colton, Ray Collins · 3 eps
Hill Street Blues
TV · 1 ep
Entertainment Tonight
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Saturday Night Live
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
Sesame Street
TV · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 3 eps