Cuba Gooding Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Gooding Jr. at the Firelight Hallmark Hall of Fame Premiere Red Carpet 2012 | |
| Born | Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. January 2, 1968 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse(s) | Sara Kapfer (1994–present; 3 children) |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Jerry Maguire (1996) |
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire.
Early life
Gooding was born in The Bronx, New York City on January 2, 1968, the son of Shirley Gooding (née Sullivan), a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient.[1][2] He has three siblings: Tommy, Omar, and April. His paternal grandfather was a native of Barbados.[2] His family moved to Los Angeles after his father's music group had a hit single with "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972; the elder Gooding abandoned his family two years later. During his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Gooding revealed that after his father had left, his family lived in hotels throughout Los Angeles. Gooding 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.[3] He became a born-again Christian at age 13.[4]
Career
His first job as an entertainer was as a breakdancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1] 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), Amen (1988) and MacGyver (1988, 1989 and 1990).[5] 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 who portrays his love interest. That particular film also marked his first (and to date, only) appearance in a musical film.
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 catch phrase.[6] In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good as It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful. He has also appeared in a series of films which were not as critically or commercially successful, such as Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and, with the exception of Norbit, 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 a 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 science fiction action film 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. A role in the World War II film, Red Tails (2012), produced by George Lucas and with other prominent actors such as Terrence Howard, marked his first appearance on the big screen since American Gangster.
He appeared on Channel 4's Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on 5 August 2011; closing the show dueting Bad Romance with Lulu.
In 2002, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[7]
Personal Life
In 1994, Gooding Jr. married his highschool sweetheart Sara Kapfer with whom he has three children: Spencer, Mason and Piper.
On August 1, 2012, New Orleans police issued an arrest warrant for Gooding Jr. stemming from an incident on Bourbon Street in which Gooding Jr. allegedly pushed a female bartender multiple times. The warrant was rescinded the next day.
Filmography
References
- ^ a b Gaul, Lou (August 7, 2008). "Cuba Gooding Jr. talks 'Daddy Day Camp'". Phillyburbs. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ a b http://www.soulandfunkmusic.com/content/view/451/1/
- ^ "Cuba Gooding Jr Bio: movies.yahoo.com".
- ^ Williams, Kam (August 15, 2007). "Cuba Gooding: The Daddy Day Camp Interview with Kam Williams". Kamwilliams. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0274908/
- ^ "Cuba Gooding Jr". Vibe. Retrieved July 6, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Cuba Gooding Jr". Lodi News-Sentinel. Associated Press. January 18, 2002. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
External links
- Cuba Gooding Jr. at IMDb
- 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)
- USAToday
- Jezebel