Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Birthdate
January 2, 1968 (56 years old)
Place of Birth
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Known For
Acting

Details

Birthdate
January 2, 1968 (56 years old)
Place of Birth
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Known For
Acting

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.

Cuba Gooding Jr.'s LGBTQ+ Titles

As Good as It Gets
As Good as It Gets
Frank Sachs

Acting (108)

Break the Cycle
2024
Athena Saves Christmas as Sheriff Jacobs
2024
The Firing Squad as Samuel Wilson
2024
TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy as Self (archive footage)
2024
Skeletons in the Closet as Andres
2023
The Weapon as Blue
2020
Life in a Year as Xavier
2020
For NYC
2018
Bayou Caviar as Rodney Jones
2016
John Bishop: In Conversation With... as Himself (1 episode)
2016
American Crime Story as O. J. Simpson (10 episodes)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self (1 episode)
2015
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl as Cuba Gooding Jr. (10 episodes)
2015
The Book of Negroes as Sam Fraunces (6 episodes)
2014
Selma as Fred Gray
2014
Freedom as Samuel
2013
Machete Kills as El Camaleon
2013
Don Jon as Hollywood Actor #2
2013
The Butler as Carter Wilson
2013
Life of a King as Eugene Brown
2013
Absolute Deception as John Nelson
2013
Summoned as Detective Callendar
2013
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit as Shadoweyes
2012
One in the Chamber as Ray Carver
2012
Firelight as DJ
2012
Red Tails as Major Emanuelle Stance
2012
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War as Narrator (voice)
2011
American Horror Story as Dominic Banks / Matt Miller (10 episodes)
2011
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood' as Self
2011
Sacrifice as John Hebron
2011
The Hit List as Jonas Arbor
2011
Ticking Clock as Lewis Hicks
2010
Conan as Self (1 episode)
2009
Wrong Turn at Tahoe as Joshua
2009
Hardwired as Luke Gibson
2009
Lies & Illusions as Isaac
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest (3 episodes)
2009
The Devil's Tomb as Mack
2009
The Way of War as David Wolfe
2009
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story as Ben Carson
2008
Linewatch as Michael Dixon
2008
Harold as Cromer
2008
Hero Wanted as Liam Case
2008
Lily Allen and Friends as Self - Guest (2 episodes)
2007
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends as Loofah (voice)
2007
American Gangster as Nicky Barnes
2007
Daddy Day Camp as Charlie Hinton
2007
What Love Is as Tom
2007
The Graham Norton Show as Self (4 episodes)
2007
Norbit as Deion Hughes
2006
End Game as Alex Thomas
2005
Shadowboxer as Mikey
2005
Dirty as Salim Adel
2005
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self (1 episode)
2004
A Dairy Tale as Buck (voice)
2004
Home on the Range as Buck (voice)
2003
Radio as Radio
2003
The Fighting Temptations as Darrin Hill
2003
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend as Self
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1 episode)
2002
Boat Trip as Jerry Robinson
2002
V Graham Norton as Self (1 episode)
2002
Snow Dogs as Ted Brooks
2001
Zoolander as Cuba Gooding Jr.
2001
America: A Tribute to Heroes as Self
2001
Rat Race as Owen Templeton
2001
In the Shadows as Draven
2001
Pearl Harbor as Doris Miller
2000
Men of Honor as Senior Chief Carl Brashear
1999
Chill Factor as Arlo
1999
A Murder of Crows as Lawson Russell
1999
Instinct as Dr. Theo Caulder
1998
What Dreams May Come as Albert Lewis
1998
Welcome to Hollywood as Cuba Gooding Jr.
1997
As Good as It Gets as Frank Sachs
1997
The View as Self (3 episodes)
1997
Trading Favors as Liquor Store Clerk
1996
Jerry Maguire as Rod Tidwell
1996
The Daily Show as Self (1 episode)
1995
MADtv as Self (1 episode)
1995
The Tuskegee Airmen as Billy Roberts
1995
Losing Isaiah as Eddie Hughes
1995
Outbreak as Major Salt
1994
Blown Away as Bomb Squad Class Member
1994
Lightning Jack as Ben Doyle
1993
Judgment Night as Mike Peterson
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest (2 episodes)
1993
Daybreak as Torch
1993
The Untouchables (1 episode)
1992
A Few Good Men as Cpl. Carl Hammaker
1992
Judgement as Officer Alvarez
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (3 episodes)
1992
Gladiator as Abraham Lincoln Haines
1992
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story as Tyree
1991
Boyz n the Hood as Tré Styles
1989
Mancuso, F.B.I. (1 episode)
1989
Nasty Boys as Poptop (3 episodes)
1989
Sing as Stanley
1988
Coming to America as Boy Getting Haircut
1987
The Bronx Zoo (1 episode)
1985
MacGyver as Billy Colton (3 episodes)
1985
MacGyver as Ray Collins (1 episode)
1985
227 (1 episode)
1981
Entertainment Tonight as Self (1 episode)
1981
Hill Street Blues (1 episode)
1975
Saturday Night Live as Self - Host (1 episode)
1969
Sesame Street (1 episode)
1953
The Oscars as Self (3 episodes)

Directing (1)

2018
Bayou Caviar • Director
• Director

Production (1)

1999
A Murder of Crows • Producer
• Producer

Writing (1)

2018
Bayou Caviar • Writer
• Writer