Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Gooding, Jr. in April 2008
Born	Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. January 2, 1968 (1968-01-02) (age 42) Bronx, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Sara Kapfer (March 13, 1994–present); 3 children

Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal as Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996) and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood (1991).

Early life

Cuba Gooding, Jr. was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, the son of Shirley, a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient.¹ 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; the elder Gooding abandoned his family two years later. During his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Gooding revealed that after his father had left, his family lived in hotels throughout Los Angeles. Gooding was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools: North Hollywood High School, 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. He became a born-again Christian at age 13.²

Career

His first job as a professional entertainer was as a breakdancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.¹ 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. That particular film also marked his first (and to date, only appearance) in a musical film.

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.³ In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful. He has also appeared in a series of films which were not as critically or commercially successful, such as Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2006), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and, with the exception of Norbit, all of which performed poorly at the box office.

Later in 2007, Cuba starred as real-life gangster Nicky Barnes in American Gangster, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. This led to a series of starring roles in grittier pictures such as the revenge drama Hero Wanted (opposite Ray Liotta) and Wrong Turn at Tahoe (also starring Harvey Keitel and Miguel Ferrer). The sci-fi action pic (opposite Val Kilmer) Hardwired and the action comedy Lies & Illusions (with Christian Slater) also marked his filmography, among others.

In 2002, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Filmography

Gooding, Jr. in 2006

Notable film quotes

I got a shelf life of ten years, tops. My next contract's gotta bring me the dollars that'll last me and mine a long time. Shit, I'm out of this sport in 5 years. What's my family gonna live on? Huh?

—Rod Tidwell (Jerry Maguire)

Show me the money!

—Rod Tidwell (Jerry Maguire)

I haven't shot anyone in a long time.

—Isaac (Lies & Illusions)

Your brother died with his dick in his hands too.

—Liam Case (Hero Wanted)

Everybody goes outside!

—Theo Caulder (Instinct)

What pants I put on?

—James Robert 'Radio' Kennedy (Radio)

You all don't know this and I never told anyone but...I'm a music producer

—Darrin Hill (The Fighting Temptations)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cuba Gooding Jr.

• Cuba Gooding, Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
• Cinema Confidential interview (January 2002)
• Hollywood.com interview (November 9, 2000)
• Jet interview (October 11, 1999)
• Ebony interview (June, 1997)
• JAM! Movies interview (December 13, 1996)
• Hanes Backstage Game with Cuba Gooding, Jr. & Michael Jordan (July, 2007)
• USAToday