Cuba Gooding Jr.

At 56 years old, Cuba Gooding Jr. has this physical status:

Cuban writer, writer, producer, and director Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor, writer, producer, and director.

He appeared in A Few Good Men (1991), Outbreak (1995), and Jerry Maguire (1996), which earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and What Dreams May Come (1998).

He gained notoriety for his performances in Men of Honor (2000) as Carl Brashear, and in Michael Bay's World War II epic Pearl Harbor (2001) as Doris Miller.

As Good as It Gets (1997), the ensemble farce Rat Race (2001), Radio (2003 film), American Gangster (2007), Fred Gray, a civil rights advocate, and Selma (2014), playing civil rights advocate Fred Gray.

He portrayed O.J.Simpson in the FX drama series The People vs. O.J. Simpsons: American Crime Story, and co-starred in the sixth season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke.

Early life

Gooding was born in the Bronx, New York City, on January 2, 1968. Shirley Sullivan, a singer, and his father, Cuba Gooding Sr., is the lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient. April, Omar, and Thomas are three siblings of Gooding. Dudley MacDonald Gooding, his paternal grandfather, was a Barbadosian. In 1972, his family moved to Los Angeles after his father's entertainment company performed "Everybody Plays the Fool"; two years later, the elder Gooding family moved to Los Angeles; two years later, the family moved to Los Angeles. Gooding himself was raised by his mother and attended four high schools: North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School, and John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. In three of them, he served as class president. At the age of 13, he became a born-again Christian.

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Career

Gooding's first act as an entertainer was as a breakdancer, appearing with singer Lionel Richie at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Gooding studied Japanese martial arts for three years before switching to acting. Early on, he began guest appearances on television shows like Hill Street Blues (1987), Amen (1988), and MacGyver (1988, 1989, and 1990), as well as a small part of the famous comedy Coming to America (1988). Gooding's first major role was in John Singleton's inner-city crime drama Boyz n the Hood (1991), in which he played the lead, Tre Styles. The film was a box office surprise and critical hit, and it is now regarded as a modern classic. He continued his success in supporting roles in films such as A Few Good Men and Gladiator (1992), Judgment Night (1993), Thunder Jack (1994), and Outbreak (1995).

Gooding achieved a new degree of fame in 1996, when he was cast as an arrogant yet charismatic football player in Cameron Crowe's dramatic sports comedy Jerry Maguire (1996), which received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and received the Academy Award for Best Picture.

His exuberant "Show me the money!"

Since being a part of the film, the line became a national catch phrase. His acceptance address to Oscar has been cited a lot for his enthusiasm.

Gooding returned to his fame in 1997 with a major supporting role in the Oscar-winning comedy As Good as It Gets (1997), but his work in the years afterward was unevenly successful. Turns in films including the mystical drama What Dreams May Come (1998) and the US Naval drama Men of Honor (2000), in which he starred and co-starred Robert De Niro, are among his finest recognized performances. Gooding has also been recognized for his contributions to the epic Pearl Harbor (2001) as Doris Miller, the ensemble's farce Rat Race (2001), musical dramedy The Fighting Temp revolt (2003), and the football drama Radio (2003), in which he appeared in the title role. In addition, the family comedy Snow Dogs (2002), although not well-received critically, was a commercial success. Theo Caulder in the psychological thriller Instinct (1999) and Buck's voice in the Disney animated film Home on the Range (2004) include other roles during this period. However, he appeared in a number of films that weren't critically or commercially lucrative, such as Chill Factor (1999), Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2006), with the exception of Norbit, which was unsuccessful at the box office.

Since then, in stark contrast to earlier stages of his acting career, Gooding has appeared in numerous more largely ignored, direct-to-DVD films than in theatrical or television releases. Both Ben Carson's Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2006), as well as a small supporting role in Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2006), were among the rare exceptions to this trend. Gooding's next big film role was in George Lucas' 2012 World War II film Red Tails. Gooding appeared in a number of theatrical release films in 2013, including a well-deserved supporting role in Lee Daniels' The Butler and brief appearances in Don Jon and Machete Kills. In a Tony Award-nominated production of The Trip to Bountiful, he made his Broadway debut alongside Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams. Fred Gray, the Civil Rights Movement lawyer, appeared in Selma, a widely circulated historical drama. He has since appeared on television more often, including as Samuel Fraunces in the miniseries The Book of Negroes, as a comedically enriched version of himself on Big Time in Hollywood, Florida, and as O. J. Simpson in the anthology film American Crime Story: The People vs. O. J. Simpson. Despite his success in mixed reviews, he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie by the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. Some commentators had blasted Gooding's Emmy nomination for his series. Billy Flynn at the Phoenix Theatre headlined the 21st Anniversary revival of the musical Chicago in the West End in 2018.

Bayou Caviar, his directorial debut, was announced on October 5, 2018.

Gooding received the American Academy of Neurology's Public Leadership in Neurology Award in 2006 for his efforts to raise concerns of Multiple Sclerosis.

Gooding appeared in a Fox television pilot called Guilty, directed by McG in 2012. Although it was well received in theaters, the network did not have it picked up by the time. He appeared on Channel 4's Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on August 5, 2011, the show's closing due to the introduction of "Bad Romance" with Lulu. He was granted a Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002. Gooding appeared in "The Quest For The Code," an online video game that focuses on juvenile asthma control.

On the 100th episode of ITV's Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Gooding appeared as the guest announcer on March 3, 2018.

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