CUBA GOODING, JR.

'Cuba Gooding, Jr.' (born January 2, 1968) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Career

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Personal life

Gooding was born 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 a brother, fellow actor, Omar 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. He became a born-again Christian at age 13.^[2][3] Gooding, Jr. was raised by his single mother and attended four different high schools (including 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. During his appearance on the "The Howard Stern Show", Gooding, Jr. revealed that after his father had left, his family lived in hotels throughout Los Angeles, CA.
He has been married to Sara Kapfer since 1994 (And has known since 1986),^[4] and has three children: Spencer, Mason, and Piper Gooding.^[5]

Career

Gooding first appeared in a commercial for the clothing line Bugle Boy during the 80's. Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s first major film role was in director John Singleton's 1991 film, ''Boyz N The Hood'', a well-reviewed film about inner city youths. Prior to this, he had appeared in many TV shows, including a recurring role on ''MacGyver''. He also had a very minor part in the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy ''Coming to America'' as a customer in the barbershop scene.
Following the success of ''Boyz N The Hood'', he was cast in a series of roles, both leading and supporting, including the 1996 film, ''Jerry Maguire'', for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The murder mystery ''A Murder of Crows'' has gained cult status among murder mystery buffs. Gooding Jr.'s subsequent career has included box office successes like ''Men of Honor'' (2000), ''Snow Dogs'' (2002), and a supporting role as Navy Cross awardee Dorie Miller in the 2001 film, ''Pearl Harbor''.
In 2006, he appeared in the crime-drama, ''Dirty'', which received a limited theatrical release, as well as the direct-to-DVD, 24-esque political drama ''End Game'' where he plays a Secret Service agent who uncovers a conspiracy after a presidential assassination. He also hosted the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards.^[6] After a string of comedies that were mostly disliked by critics, Gooding has vowed to never appear in another comedy again, saying that he "thought people wanted me to make them laugh, but I was wrong on so many levels. I try to take all my energy and take it into comedy, and that's when I'm terrible".^[7] Since that statement in March 2006, Gooding appeared in two comedy films in 2007: ''Norbit'' and ''Daddy Day Camp''.^[8] He also currently appears in advertisements for Hanes underwear with former NBA star Michael Jordan.

Filmography

'Year'	'Title'	'Role'	'Other notes'
1988	''Coming to America''	Barber Shop Customer
1991	''Boyz n the Hood''	Tré Styles
1992	''Gladiator''	Abraham Lincoln Haines
	''A Few Good Men''	Cpl. Carl Hammaker
1993	''Daybreak''	Torch (Stephen Tolkin)
	''Judgment Night''	Mike Peterson
1994	''Lightning Jack''	Ben Doyle
1995	''Outbreak''	Maj. Salt
1996	''Jerry Maguire''	Rod Tidwell	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1997	''As Good as It Gets''	Frank Sachs
1998	''What Dreams May Come''	Albert Lewis
	''A Murder of Crows''	Lawson Russel	Produced by Derek Broes
1999	''Instinct''	Theo Caulder
	''Chill Factor''	Arlo
2000	''Men of Honor''	BM2/Chief/Senior Chief Carl Brashear
2001	''Pearl Harbor''	Petty Officer Doris Miller
	''Rat Race''	Owen Templeton
2002	''Snow Dogs''	Dr. Ted Brooks
2003	''Boat Trip''	Jerry Robinson
	''The Fighting Temptations''	Darrin Hill
	''Radio''	James Robert "Radio" Kennedy
2004	''Home on the Range''	Buck	voice-over
2005	''Dirty''	Salim Adel
2006	''Shadowboxer''	Mikey
	''End Game''	Alex Thomas
	''What Love Is''	Tom
2007	''Norbit''	Deion Hughes
	''Daddy Day Camp''	Charlie Hinton
	''American Gangster''	Leroy "Nicky" Barnes
	''Hero Wanted''	Liam Case	(Filming)
	''	Loofah	voice-over direct-to-video

References

1. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/80-08072007-1389232.html
2. http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur35927.cfm
3. http://www.tv-now.com/intervus/omar/index.html
4. http://www.flixster.com/actor/cuba-gooding
5. http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2006/02/cuba_gooding_jr.html
6. http://www.naacp.org/news/2006/2006-02-27.html
7. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/03/02/movie_snippets_jane_austen_biopic_transa
8. [1]

External links

★

★

★ 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)