Cuba Gooding, Jr.

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

Early life

Gooding, Jr. was born in The Bronx, New York to Cuba Gooding, Sr. (lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient) and Shirley (a singer); he has two siblings, one of whom is 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.

Gooding, Jr., who became a born-again Christian at age 13, was raised by his single mother and attended four different high schools (including North Hollywood High School and Tustin High School). He served as class president in three of them.

Career

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.

Cuba took his first shot at producing with long time manager and partner Derek Broes. Broes and Gooding tapped long time friend Rowdy Herrington as the writer director of the film A Murder of Crows. The film has gained cult status among murder mystery buffs. Broes later left Hollywood for the technology world and now sits in an executive chair at Microsoft Corporation.

Gooding, Jr.'s subsequent career has included box office successes like Men of Honor (in 2000), Snow Dogs (in 2002), and a supporting role as Navy Cross awardee Doris 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.^*

After a string of comedies that were mostly disliked by critics, Gooding, Jr. 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".^*

Private life

Gooding, Jr. is married to schoolteacher Sara Kapfer, whom he has known since 1986; they have three children, Spencer, Mason, and Piper.

He is a fan of hockey and in January 2006, Cuba made an appearance as a guest announcer for the Los Angeles Kings in one game.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	End Game	Alex Thomas
2004	Home on the Range	Buck	voice-over
2003	Radio	James Robert "Radio" Kennedy
2003	The Fighting Temptations	Darrin Hill
2003	Boat Trip	Jerry Robinson
2002	Snow Dogs	Dr. Ted Brooks
2001	Rat Race	Owen Templeton
2001	Pearl Harbor	Petty Officer Doris Miller
2000	Men of Honor	BM2/Chief/Senior Chief Carl Brashear
1999	Chill Factor	Arlo
1999	Instinct	Theo Caulder
1998	A Murder of Crows	Lawson Russel	Produced by Derek Broes
1998	What Dreams May Come	Albert Lewis
1997	As Good as It Gets	Frank Sachs
1996	Jerry Maguire	Rod Tidwell	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1994	Lightning Jack	Ben Doyle
1993	Judgment Night	Mike Peterson
1992	Gladiator	Abraham Lincoln Haines
1991	Boyz N the Hood	Tré Styles

Interviews

About.com interview (March 5, 2006)
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)