CJ
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Actor, Producer, Director, Writer
Born January 2, 1968 (54 years)
Cuba Gooding 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.
Gooding is married to Sara Kapfer; they have two sons, Spencer and Mason.
Filmography
| 2020 | Life in a Year · as Xavier |
| 2018 | Bayou Caviar · as Rodney Jones |
| 2016 | American Crime Story (TV Series) · as O. J. Simpson |
| 2015 | Empire (2015) (TV Series) · as Puma |
| 2015 | Big Time in Hollywood, FL (TV Series) · as Cuba Gooding Jr. |
| 2015 | The Book of Negroes (TV Series) · as Sam Fraunces |
| 2014 | Selma · as Fred Gray |
| 2014 | Freedom · as Samuel |
| 2014 | Forever (2014) (TV Series) · as Isaac Monroe |
| 2013 | Machete Kills · as El Camaleon |
| 2013 | Lee Daniels' The Butler · as Carter Wilson |
| 2013 | Don Jon · as Hollywood Actor #2 |
| 2013 | Summoned · as Detective Callendar |
| 2013 | Absolute Deception · as John Nelson |
| 2013 | Life of a King · as Eugene |
| 2012 | Red Tails · as Major Emanuelle Stance |
| 2012 | Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! · as actor |
| 2012 | Firelight · as DJ |
| 2012 | One in the Chamber · as Ray Carver |
| 2012 | Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War · as Narrator (voice) |
| 2011 | Ticking Clock · as Lewis Hicks |
| 2011 | Sacrifice · as John Hebron |
| 2011 | These Amazing Shadows · as Tre Styles (clip from Boyz n the Hood (1991)) |
| 2011 | American Horror Story (TV Series) · as Dominic Banks / Matt Miller |
| 2011 | The Hit List · as Jonas Arbor |
| 2010 | 2 Everything 2 Terrible 2: Tokyo Drift · as actor |
| 2009 | The Way of War · as David Wolfe |
| 2009 | The Devil's Tomb · as Mack |
| 2009 | Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story · as Ben Carson |
| 2009 | Lies & Illusions · as Isaac |
| 2009 | Wrong Turn at Tahoe · as Joshua |
| 2009 | Hardwired · as Luke Gibson |
| 2008 | Harold · as Cromer |
| 2008 | Linewatch · as Michael Dixon |
| 2008 | Hero Wanted · as Liam Case |
| 2007 | American Gangster · as Nicky Barnes |
| 2007 | What Love Is · as Tom |
| 2007 | The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends · as Loofah (voice) |
| 2007 | Norbit · as Deion Hughes |
| 2007 | Daddy Day Camp · as Charlie Hinton |
| 2006 | End Game · as Alex Thomas |
| 2005 | Dirty · as Salim Adel |
| 2005 | Shadowboxer · as Mikey |
| 2004 | Home on the Range · as Buck (voice) |
| 2004 | A Dairy Tale · as Buck(voice) |
| 2003 | Radio · as Radio |
| 2003 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations · as Darrin Hill |
| 2002 | Snow Dogs · as Ted Brooks |
| 2002 | Boat Trip · as Jerry Robinson |
| 2001 | Pearl Harbor · as Doris Miller |
| 2001 | Rat Race · as Owen Templeton |
| 2001 | Zoolander · as Cuba Gooding Jr. |
| 2001 | In the Shadows · as Draven |
| 2000 | Men of Honor · as Senior Chief Carl Brashear |
| 2000 | The Kid · as Wedding Guest |
| 1999 | Instinct · as Dr. Theo Caulder |
| 1999 | Chill Factor · as Arlo |
| 1998 | What Dreams May Come · as Albert Lewis |
| 1998 | A Murder of Crows · as Lawson Russell |
| 1998 | Welcome to Hollywood · as Cuba Gooding Jr. |
| 1997 | As Good as It Gets · as Frank Sachs |
| 1997 | Trading Favors · as Liquor Store Clerk |
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire · as Rod Tidwell |
| 1995 | Outbreak · as Salt |
| 1995 | The Tuskegee Airmen · as Billy Roberts |
| 1994 | Lightning Jack · as Ben Doyle |
| 1994 | Blown Away · as Bomb Squad Class Member |
| 1993 | Judgment Night · as Mike Peterson |
| 1993 | Daybreak · as Torch |
| 1993 | Losing Isaiah · as Eddie Hughes |
| 1992 | A Few Good Men · as Cpl. Carl Hammaker |
| 1992 | Gladiator · as Abraham Lincoln Haines |
| 1992 | Hitz · as Officer Alvarez |
| 1992 | |
| 1992 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1991 | Boyz n the Hood · as Tré Styles |
| 1989 | Sing · as Stanley |
| 1988 | Coming to America · as Boy Getting Haircut |
| 1986 | Amen (TV Series) · as Kenny Mitchell |
| 1985 | 227 (1985) (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1985 | MacGyver (TV Series) · as Billy Colton |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1969 | Sesame Street (TV Series) · as Unknown |