Acting
Cuba Gooding Jr.
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.
Filmography
Quantum Supremacy
Film · 2026
Atlas King
Film · 2026
Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws
Film · 2025
A Line of Fire
Film · 2025
The Firing Squad
Film · 2024
Skeletons in the Closet
Film · 2024
TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy
Film · 2024
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
Film · 2024
The Weapon
Film · 2023
For NYC
Film · 2020
Life in a Year
Film · 2020
Bayou Caviar
Film · 2018
American Crime Story
Series · 2016
John Bishop: In Conversation with...
Series · 2016
The Book of Negroes
Series · 2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Series · 2015
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
Series · 2015
Empire
Series · 2015
Freedom
Film · 2014
Selma
Film · 2014
Machete Kills
Film · 2013
The Butler
Film · 2013
Summoned
Film · 2013
Life of a King
Film · 2013
Absolute Deception
Film · 2013
Don Jon
Film · 2013
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit
Film · 2013
The Last Leg
Series · 2013
Red Tails
Film · 2012
Firelight
Film · 2012
One in the Chamber
Film · 2012
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War
Film · 2012
Ticking Clock
Film · 2011
Sacrifice
Film · 2011
The Hit List
Film · 2011
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'
Film · 2011
American Horror Story
Series · 2011
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Film · 2010
Conan
Series · 2010
Hardwired
Film · 2009
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Film · 2009
Lies & Illusions
Film · 2009
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
Film · 2009
The Way of War
Film · 2009
The Devil's Tomb
Film · 2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Series · 2009
Harold
Film · 2008
Linewatch
Film · 2008
Hero Wanted
Film · 2008
Lily Allen and Friends
Series · 2008
American Gangster
Film · 2007
Norbit
Film · 2007
What Love Is
Film · 2007
Daddy Day Camp
Film · 2007
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
Film · 2007
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
Film · 2007
The Graham Norton Show
Series · 2007
End Game
Film · 2006
Dirty
Film · 2005
Shadowboxer
Film · 2005
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Series · 2005
A Dairy Tale
Film · 2004
Home on the Range
Film · 2004
The Fighting Temptations
Film · 2003
Radio
Film · 2003
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend
Film · 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Series · 2003
Snow Dogs
Film · 2002
Boat Trip
Film · 2002
Making Rat Race
Film · 2002
V Graham Norton
Series · 2002
SlamBall
Series · 2002
Pearl Harbor
Film · 2001
Zoolander
Film · 2001
In the Shadows
Film · 2001
America: A Tribute to Heroes
Film · 2001
Rat Race
Film · 2001
Men of Honor
Film · 2000
Welcome to Hollywood
Film · 2000
Chill Factor
Film · 1999
Instinct
Film · 1999
A Murder of Crows
Film · 1999
What Dreams May Come
Film · 1998
As Good as It Gets
Film · 1997
Trading Favors
Film · 1997
The View
Series · 1997
Jerry Maguire
Film · 1996
The Daily Show
Series · 1996
Outbreak
Film · 1995
The Tuskegee Airmen
Film · 1995
Losing Isaiah
Film · 1995
MADtv
Series · 1995
Lightning Jack
Film · 1994
Blown Away
Film · 1994
Judgment Night
Film · 1993
Daybreak
Film · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
The Untouchables
Series · 1993
A Few Good Men
Film · 1992
Judgement
Film · 1992
Gladiator
Film · 1992
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story
Film · 1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Series · 1992
Boyz n the Hood
Film · 1991
Nasty Boys
Series · 1990
Sing
Film · 1989
Mancuso, F.B.I.
Series · 1989
Coming to America
Film · 1988
The Bronx Zoo
Series · 1987
227
Series · 1985
MacGyver
Series · 1985
MacGyver
Series · 1985
Hill Street Blues
Series · 1981
Entertainment Tonight
Series · 1981
Saturday Night Live
Series · 1975
Sesame Street
Series · 1969
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Break the Cycle
Film
Giving Thanks
Film
Above the Break
Film
The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty
Film
Padilla
Film
Lotus
Film