Cuba Gooding, Jr. Quotes

United States, Actor
January 2, 1968

Cuba Michael Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968), is an American actor and comedian. He gained his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in Boyz n the Hood (1991); he appeared in A Few Good Men (1992), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), Outbreak (1995), and Jerry Maguire (1996), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He gained later attention for his roles in Men of Honor (2000) as Carl Brashear, and in Michael Bay's WWII epic Pearl Harbor (2001) as Doris Miller. His other notable films include As Good as It Gets (1997), the ensemble farce Rat Race (2001), American Gangster (2007), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and Selma (2014), playing civil rights attorney Fred Gray. In 2016, he portrayed O.J. Simpson in the FX drama series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and co-starred in the sixth season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke.

Also known as Comedian

There's a lack of diversity amongst executives in the position of greenlighting a film who feel that their stories are being told. If there's a diversity at the executive level, then we'll have diversity of the storytelling process.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Diversity
I understand it all. I can write my own ticket for one or two movies. But if they're not the right ones, my ticket gets yanked. I understand that's how it works, and I'm okay with it.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

It wears on your soul when you take on the mental state of a dark character.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Character
- Soul
- Dark
There are roles I want that my agency might not want me to do because of the subject matter or whatever. Or there are roles that people won't bring to me because they don't think I'll do it. And that is a big strain because an actor wants to act.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- People
I am admiring of my fellow peers, black filmmakers and black actors and actresses.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Black
I think all my characters haunt me. Especially the real-life ones, like Master Chief Carl Brashear, the Tuskagee Airmen. Every time I see a military person, it gives me such a sense of pride but also a sense of responsibility to project excellence when representing them.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Life
- Time
- Real
When I started in the business, you did television, and then when you got lucky, you got a prestige project of a film.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Business
The truth is, you don't ever decide on a role, not when you first begin. You audition for the role, and you're lucky to get it.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Truth

The Academy Awards was an amazing night. I know I kind of lost my mind a little bit. I apologize for that. That night went so fast; I can't remember what I said or what happened.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Mind
- Remember
- Night
I don't choose parts. I choose filmmakers. I'm done trying to make a statement with a character. What happens is, I craft a performance from the beginning to the end of the character. Then I release it to the director, and he interprets what I gave him.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Trying
- Done
- Character
I speak to my agent about great roles, and he's like, 'They are all going to Will Smith.'

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Great
I think police officers are modern day heroes. I think they protect us.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Police
Now, I have big-money offers on three movies, and I have director approval. That's kind of scary,' he says. 'No directors have been attached. That's a lot of pressure on me.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Money
- Scary
If I told you I was a Republican and you were a Democrat, no matter what I said after that, it would be tempered with your opinions.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Our job as artists is to reflect the ills of society sometimes and to find a truth in that, and I think you can't start the healing process until you recognize the truth and all of its ugly warts and all.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Job
- Truth
- Society
As an actor, when you're winning the moment over, there's a truth to your intention. You might laugh at it or you might cry at it, but I think your visceral reaction to it is a reaction to the truth of the moment.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Truth
- Winning
As an actor you have to bring to the table your creative input. But when a director like Ridley Scott says I want you to do this this way, you know when he gets to the editing room he has a reason for it. It's like watching a masterpiece.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.