Quantum Supremacy
2026 · Movie
as Captain Marcus Monroe
Cuba Gooding Jr.
1968-01-02
•
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Writers:
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 Blues (1981) and MacGyver (1985). 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. 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 catchphrase. In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful; Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and 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 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 sci-fi action pic 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. An appearance in the World War II film, Red Tails, produced by George Lucas and with other prominent actors such as Terrence Howard, will mark his only return to the big screen since American Gangster.
Filmography
Atlas King
2026 · Movie
Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws
2025 · Movie
as Sheriff Jacobs
A Line of Fire
2025 · Movie
as Javier Cardona
The Firing Squad
2024 · Movie
as Samuel Wilson
Skeletons in the Closet
2024 · Movie
as Andres
TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy
2024 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
2024 · Movie
as Balthazar
The Weapon
2023 · Movie
as Blue
For NYC
2020 · Movie
Life in a Year
2020 · Movie
as Xavier
Bayou Caviar
2018 · Movie
as Rodney Jones
American Crime Story
2016 · TV Show
as O. J. Simpson
John Bishop: In Conversation with...
2016 · TV Show
as Self
The Book of Negroes
2015 · TV Show
as Sam Fraunces
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015 · TV Show
as Self
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
2015 · TV Show
as Cuba Gooding Jr.
Empire
2015 · TV Show
as Puma
Freedom
2014 · Movie
as Samuel
Selma
2014 · Movie
as Fred Gray
Machete Kills
2013 · Movie
as El Camaleón 2
The Butler
2013 · Movie
as Carter Wilson
Summoned
2013 · Movie
as Detective Callendar
Life of a King
2013 · Movie
as Eugene Brown
Absolute Deception
2013 · Movie
as John Nelson
Don Jon
2013 · Movie
as Hollywood Actor #2
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit
2013 · Movie
as Shadoweyes
The Last Leg
2013 · TV Show
as Self
Red Tails
2012 · Movie
as Major Emanuelle Stance
Firelight
2012 · Movie
as DJ
One in the Chamber
2012 · Movie
as Ray Carver
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War
2012 · Movie
as Narrator (voice)
Ticking Clock
2011 · Movie
as Lewis Hicks
Sacrifice
2011 · Movie
as John Hebron
The Hit List
2011 · Movie
as Jonas Arbor
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'
2011 · Movie
as Self
American Horror Story
2011 · TV Show
as Dominic Banks
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010 · Movie
as (archive footage)
Conan
2010 · TV Show
as Self
Hardwired
2009 · Movie
as Luke Gibson
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
2009 · Movie
as Ben Carson
Lies & Illusions
2009 · Movie
as Isaac
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
2009 · Movie
as Joshua
The Way of War
2009 · Movie
as David Wolfe
The Devil's Tomb
2009 · Movie
as Mack
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
Harold
2008 · Movie
as Cromer
Linewatch
2008 · Movie
as Michael Dixon
Hero Wanted
2008 · Movie
as Liam Case
Lily Allen and Friends
2008 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
American Gangster
2007 · Movie
as Nicky Barnes
Norbit
2007 · Movie
as Deion Hughes
What Love Is
2007 · Movie
as Tom
Daddy Day Camp
2007 · Movie
as Charlie Hinton
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
2007 · Movie
as Loofah (voice)
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
2007 · Movie
as Self
The Graham Norton Show
2007 · TV Show
as Self
End Game
2006 · Movie
as Agent Alex Thomas
Dirty
2005 · Movie
as Salim Adel
Shadowboxer
2005 · Movie
as Mikey
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005 · TV Show
as Self
A Dairy Tale
2004 · Movie
as Buck (voice)
Home on the Range
2004 · Movie
as Buck (voice)
The Fighting Temptations
2003 · Movie
as Darrin Hill
Radio
2003 · Movie
as Radio
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend
2003 · Movie
as Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003 · TV Show
as Self
Snow Dogs
2002 · Movie
as Ted Brooks
Boat Trip
2002 · Movie
as Jerry Robinson
Making Rat Race
2002 · Movie
as Himself
V Graham Norton
2002 · TV Show
as Self
Pearl Harbor
2001 · Movie
as Dorie Miller
Zoolander
2001 · Movie
as Cuba Gooding Jr.
In the Shadows
2001 · Movie
as Draven
America | A Tribute to Heroes
2001 · Movie
as Self
Rat Race
2001 · Movie
as Owen Templeton
Men of Honor
2000 · Movie
as Senior Chief Carl Brashear
Welcome to Hollywood
2000 · Movie
as Cuba Gooding Jr.
Chill Factor
1999 · Movie
as Arlo
Instinct
1999 · Movie
as Dr. Theo Caulder
A Murder of Crows
1999 · Movie
as Lawson Russell
What Dreams May Come
1998 · Movie
as Albert Lewis
As Good as It Gets
1997 · Movie
as Frank Sachs
Trading Favors
1997 · Movie
as Liquor Store Clerk
The View
1997 · TV Show
as Self
Jerry Maguire
1996 · Movie
as Rod Tidwell
The Daily Show
1996 · TV Show
as Self
Outbreak
1995 · Movie
as Major Salt
The Tuskegee Airmen
1995 · Movie
as Billy Roberts
Losing Isaiah
1995 · Movie
as Eddie Hughes
MADtv
1995 · TV Show
as Self
Lightning Jack
1994 · Movie
as Ben Doyle
Blown Away
1994 · Movie
as Bomb Squad Class Member
Judgment Night
1993 · Movie
as Mike Peterson
Daybreak
1993 · Movie
as Torch
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
The Untouchables
1993 · TV Show
A Few Good Men
1992 · Movie
as Cpl. Carl Hammaker
Judgement
1992 · Movie
as Officer Alvarez
Gladiator
1992 · Movie
as Abraham Lincoln Haines
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story
1992 · Movie
as Tyree
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992 · TV Show
Boyz n the Hood
1991 · Movie
as Tré Styles
Nasty Boys
1990 · TV Show
as Poptop
Sing
1989 · Movie
as Stanley
Mancuso, F.B.I.
1989 · TV Show
Coming to America
1988 · Movie
as Boy Getting Haircut
The Bronx Zoo
1987 · TV Show
227
1985 · TV Show
MacGyver
1985 · TV Show
as Billy Colton, Ray Collins
Hill Street Blues
1981 · TV Show
Entertainment Tonight
1981 · TV Show
as Self
Saturday Night Live
1975 · TV Show
as Self - Host
Sesame Street
1969 · TV Show
The Oscars
1953 · TV Show
as Self
Break the Cycle
· Movie
Giving Thanks
· Movie
as Calvin
Above the Break
· Movie
as Frank Kitner
No image
The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty
· Movie
Padilla
· Movie
No image
Lotus
· Movie
