Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

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.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: January 02, 1968

Deathday: N/A

Popularity:

12.912

Known For

Judgment Night
Judgment Night

1993-10-15

A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men

1992-12-11

Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood

1991-07-12

Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor

2001-05-21

Chill Factor
Chill Factor

1999-09-01

Dirty
Dirty

2006-01-20

For NYC
For NYC

2020-06-01

As Good as It Gets
As Good as It Gets

1997-12-19

The Weapon
The Weapon

2023-02-17

American Gangster
American Gangster

2007-11-02

The Fighting Temptations
The Fighting Temptations

2003-09-19

Lightning Jack
Lightning Jack

1994-03-11

Hardwired
Hardwired

2009-11-03

Outbreak
Outbreak

1995-03-10

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

2009-02-07

The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen

1995-08-25

Lies & Illusions
Lies & Illusions

2009-08-26

Men of Honor
Men of Honor

2000-09-13

A Dairy Tale
A Dairy Tale

2004-09-14

Snow Dogs
Snow Dogs

2002-01-18

Instinct
Instinct

1999-06-04

What Dreams May Come
What Dreams May Come

1998-10-02

Wrong Turn at Tahoe
Wrong Turn at Tahoe

2009-11-16

End Game
End Game

2006-07-27

Norbit
Norbit

2007-02-08

Boat Trip
Boat Trip

2002-10-01

What Love Is
What Love Is

2007-03-23

Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire

1996-12-13

Zoolander
Zoolander

2001-09-28

Rat Race
Rat Race

2001-08-17

Shadowboxer
Shadowboxer

2005-09-09

Harold
Harold

2008-07-13

Losing Isaiah
Losing Isaiah

1995-03-17

Home on the Range
Home on the Range

2004-04-02

Radio
Radio

2003-10-24

Daddy Day Camp
Daddy Day Camp

2007-08-08

Trading Favors
Trading Favors

1997-06-04

Judgement
Judgement

1992-08-05

Linewatch
Linewatch

2008-10-21

Athena Saves Christmas
Athena Saves Christmas

The Way of War
The Way of War

2009-04-20

Gladiator
Gladiator

1992-03-06

Sing
Sing

1989-03-31

Hero Wanted
Hero Wanted

2008-03-28

The Devil's Tomb
The Devil's Tomb

2009-05-26

Daybreak
Daybreak

1993-05-08

A Murder of Crows
A Murder of Crows

1999-07-06

Ticking Clock
Ticking Clock

2011-01-04

Red Tails
Red Tails

2012-01-19

Sacrifice
Sacrifice

2011-04-26

The Hit List
The Hit List

2011-04-02

Firelight
Firelight

2012-04-22

Machete Kills
Machete Kills

2013-09-12

One in the Chamber
One in the Chamber

2012-08-21

The Butler
The Butler

2013-08-16

Summoned
Summoned

2013-06-01

Life of a King
Life of a King

2013-06-22

Absolute Deception
Absolute Deception

2013-06-10

Don Jon
Don Jon

2013-09-12

The Firing Squad
The Firing Squad

2024-08-02

Freedom
Freedom

2014-08-21

In the Shadows
In the Shadows

2001-06-24

Selma
Selma

2014-12-25

Skeletons in the Closet
Skeletons in the Closet

2024-01-24

Break the Cycle
Break the Cycle

Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story

1992-01-06

TMZ Presents | The Downfall of Diddy
TMZ Presents | The Downfall of Diddy

2024-04-28

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift

2010-08-03

Guilty
Guilty

Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit

2013-01-01

Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace

2024-07-09

Quantum Supremacy
Quantum Supremacy

2024-12-02

Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War

2012-01-13

Life in a Year
Life in a Year

2020-11-27

Welcome to Hollywood
Welcome to Hollywood

1998-10-01

Coming to America
Coming to America

1988-06-29

Bayou Caviar
Bayou Caviar

2018-10-05

The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends

2007-11-27

The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'

2011-07-19

Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend

2003-09-02

Blown Away
Blown Away

1994-07-01

America | A Tribute to Heroes
America | A Tribute to Heroes

2001-09-21

Making Rat Race
Making Rat Race

2002-01-29

A Line of Fire
A Line of Fire