Cuba Gooding Jr.

Biography

Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. He 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 Blue…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Pearl Harbor (2001) — Dorie Miller
2. American Gangster (2007) — Nicky Barnes
3. American Horror Story (2011) — Dominic Banks
4. Zoolander (2001) — Cuba Gooding Jr.
5. Coming to America (1988) — Boy Getting Haircut
6. Don Jon (2013) — Hollywood Actor #2
7. A Few Good Men (1992) — Cpl. Carl Hammaker
8. As Good as It Gets (1997) — Frank Sachs
9. Jerry Maguire (1996) — Rod Tidwell
10. The Butler (2013) — Carter Wilson
11. Norbit (2007) — Deion Hughes
12. What Dreams May Come (1998) — Albert Lewis
13. Men of Honor (2000) — Senior Chief Carl Brashear
14. Outbreak (1995) — Major Salt
15. Selma (2014) — Fred Gray
16. Boyz n the Hood (1991) — Tré Styles
17. Home on the Range (2004) — Buck (voice)
18. Machete Kills (2013) — El Camaleón 2
19. Rat Race (2001) — Owen Templeton
20. Life in a Year (2020) — Xavier
21. American Crime Story (2016) — O. J. Simpson
22. MacGyver (1985) — Billy Colton
23. Radio (2003) — Radio
24. Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) — Ben Carson
25. Snow Dogs (2002) — Ted Brooks
26. Empire (2015) — Puma
27. Red Tails (2012) — Major Emanuelle Stance
28. Boat Trip (2002) — Jerry Robinson
29. Instinct (1999) — Dr. Theo Caulder
30. The Daily Show (1996) — Self
31. Blown Away (1994) — Bomb Squad Class Member
32. Daddy Day Camp (2007) — Charlie Hinton
33. Saturday Night Live (1975) — Self - Host
34. Gladiator (1992) — Abraham Lincoln Haines
35. Judgment Night (1993) — Mike Peterson
36. The Hit List (2011) — Jonas Arbor
37. Sesame Street (1969)
38. The Graham Norton Show (2007) — Self
39. Conan (2010) — Self
40. Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) — Self

Directed

1. Bayou Caviar (2018) — Director