Editing Cuba Gooding Jr. (section)

==Career==
===1984–1996: Early roles and ''Jerry Maguire'' ===
[[File:Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. by Kozaryn.jpg|thumb|left|Gooding in 2000]]
Gooding's 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.<ref name="Gaul, Lou 2007"/> 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 such as ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' (1987), ''[[Amen (TV series)|Amen]]'' (1988) and ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' (1988, 1989 and 1990). He also had a small part in the popular comedy ''[[Coming to America]]'' (1988). 

Gooding's first major role was the lead in [[John Singleton]]'s inner-city crime drama ''[[Boyz n the Hood]]'' (1991), in which he played Tre Styles. The film was a box office surprise success and critical hit. It is now considered a modern classic.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrTB2Uf7kEIC|title=John Singleton: Interviews|last=Barboza|first=Craigh|date=January 1, 2009|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=9781604731163|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ebonynationalmed00grif|url-access=registration|title=Ebony|date=November 1, 1998|isbn=9780945800286|language=en}}</ref> Gooding followed this success with supporting roles in major films such as ''[[A Few Good Men]]'' and ''[[Gladiator (1992 film)|Gladiator]]'' (both 1992), ''[[Judgment Night (film)|Judgment Night]]'' (1993), ''[[Lightning Jack]]'' (1994), and ''[[Outbreak (1995 film)|Outbreak]]'' (1995). He played Billy Roberts in the [[HBO]] film ''[[The Tuskegee Airmen]]'' (1995).

In 1996, Gooding reached a new level of prominence when he was cast as an arrogant yet charismatic football player in [[Cameron Crowe]]'s dramatic sports comedy ''[[Jerry Maguire]]'' (1996), co-starring with [[Tom Cruise]]. The film was a major critical and commercial success and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]; Gooding won an Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]. His exuberant "Show me the money!" line in the film became a nationwide catchphrase.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vibe.com/celebs/feature.html?id=53 |title=Cuba Gooding Jr. |access-date=July 6, 2009 |work=Vibe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430085729/http://www.vibe.com/celebs/feature.html?id=53 |archive-date=April 30, 2009 }}</ref> His Oscar acceptance speech has often been cited for its enthusiasm.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/oscars/2017/02/24/oscars-best-speeches/|date=24 February 2017|last=Nolfi|first=Joey |title=The 15 most memorable Oscar speeches since Cuba Gooding Jr.|access-date=19 April 2020|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref>

===1997–2012: Established actor ===
[[File:Cuba Gooding Jr. 2016 Daytona 500.jpg|thumb|Gooding at the [[2016 Daytona 500]]]]
In 1997, Gooding followed his breakout with a notable supporting role in the acclaimed Academy Award-winning comedy ''[[As Good as It Gets]]'' (1997). In the following years, his career was inconsistently successful. Some of his best-received performances include turns in films such as the mystical drama ''[[What Dreams May Come (film)|What Dreams May Come]]'' (1998) and the US Naval drama ''[[Men of Honor]]'' (2000), in which he played the lead role and co-starred with [[Robert De Niro]]. Gooding also received attention for his roles in the epic ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]'' (2001) as [[Doris Miller]], the ensemble farce ''[[Rat Race (film)|Rat Race]]'' (2001), musical dramedy ''[[The Fighting Temptations]]'' (2003), and the football drama ''[[Radio (2003 film)|Radio]]'' (2003), in which he played the title role. Additionally, though not well received critically, the family comedy ''[[Snow Dogs]]'' (2002) was a commercial success. In 2002, he was given a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. Gooding starred in an online video game called "The Quest For The Code" which focuses on juvenile asthma management.<ref>{{cite news | title = Cuba Gooding Jr. | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QM40AAAAIBAJ&pg=4576,1832246| agency = Associated Press | newspaper = Lodi News-Sentinel | date = January 18, 2002 | access-date = June 5, 2011 }}</ref>

Other roles during this time include Theo Caulder in the psychological thriller ''[[Instinct (1999 film)|Instinct]]'' (1999). He voiced Buck the [[Horse]] in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] animated film ''[[Home on the Range (2004 film)|Home on the Range]]'' (2004). However, during this stage of his career, he appeared in a series of films that were not critically or commercially successful, such as ''[[Chill Factor (film)|Chill Factor]]'' (1999), ''[[Boat Trip (film)|Boat Trip]]'' (2002), ''[[Norbit]]'' (2007) and ''[[Daddy Day Camp]]'' (2007), all of which received extremely negative reviews and, except for ''Norbit'', performed poorly at the box office. 

Since then, in contrast to earlier stages of his acting career, Gooding has appeared in more critically ignored, [[direct-to-video|direct-to-DVD]] films than theatrical or television releases. A well-received performance as [[Ben Carson]] in the [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]] film ''[[Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story]]'' (2009), and a small supporting role in [[Ridley Scott]]'s ''[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]]'' (2007), both proved to be exceptions to this trend. 

Gooding's next major film role was in the 2012 [[World War II]] film ''[[Red Tails]]'', produced by [[George Lucas]]. In 2012, Gooding starred in a TV pilot for [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] called ''Guilty'', which was directed by [[McG]]. Though it was well received in screenings, it was ultimately not picked up by the network. He appeared on [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[Chris Moyles' Quiz Night]]'' on August 5, 2011, closing the show in a duet, "[[Bad Romance]]", with [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]].

=== 2013–present: Broadway debut and TV roles ===
In 2013, Gooding had roles in several theatrical release films, including a well-received supporting performance in Lee Daniels's ''[[The Butler]]'' and brief appearances in ''[[Don Jon]]'' and ''[[Machete Kills]]''. 

He made his [[Broadway theatre]] debut alongside [[Cicely Tyson]] and [[Vanessa L. Williams|Vanessa Williams]] in a [[Tony Award]]-nominated production of ''[[The Trip to Bountiful (play)|The Trip to Bountiful]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Busis |first=Hillary|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/12/20/cuba-gooding-jr-vanessa-williams-broadway/|title=Cuba Gooding Jr. and Vanessa Williams head to Broadway|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=December 20, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2014}}</ref>

In 2014, he appeared as [[Civil Rights Movement]] attorney [[Fred Gray (attorney)|Fred Gray]] in the widely acclaimed historical drama ''[[Selma (film)|Selma]]''. He has since appeared more frequently in television productions, including performances as [[Samuel Fraunces]] in the miniseries ''[[The Book of Negroes (miniseries)|The Book of Negroes]]'', as a comedically embellished version of himself on ''[[Big Time in Hollywood, FL]]'', and as [[O. J. Simpson]] in the anthology series ''[[The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story|American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson]]''. 

Although his performance as 'OJ' received mixed reviews,<ref name="The Guardian Review">{{cite web|last1=Schilling|first1=Dave|title=The People v OJ Simpson: episode one – great casting, with one exception|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/05/the-people-v-oj-simpson-casting-cuba-gooding-jr|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London, England|date=5 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Starr|first1=Michael|title=Cuba Gooding Jr. has made despicable O.J. Simpson boring|url=https://nypost.com/2016/02/23/cuba-gooding-jr-has-made-despicable-o-j-simpson-boring/|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|date=February 23, 2016|access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=McGovern|first1=Joe|title=In defense of Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/09/defense-cuba-gooding-jr-oj-simpson|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=February 9, 2016|access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref> he received a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] nomination for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie]]. Some reviewers criticized the nomination.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marcus|first1=Stephanie|title=Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Emmy Nomination For Playing O.J. Simpson Is Puzzling To Say The Least|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cuba-gooding-jrs-emmy-nomination-for-playing-oj-simpson-is-puzzling_us_5787e40fe4b08608d3339db1?|website=[[Huffington Post]]|date=July 14, 2016|access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref> In 2018, Gooding headlined the 21st anniversary revival of the musical ''[[Chicago (musical)|Chicago]]'' at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End, playing [[Billy Flynn (Chicago)|Billy Flynn]] .

His directorial debut, ''[[Bayou Caviar]]'', was released on October 5, 2018. On March 3, 2018, Gooding appeared as star guest announcer on the 100th episode of [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway]]''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Miller|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/926771/Saturday-Night-Takeaway-Ant-and-Dec-SNUBBED-Cuba-Gooding-Jr-100th-episode|title=Saturday Night Takeaway: Ant and Dec SNUBBED by Cuba Gooding Jr. during 100th episode|newspaper=[[Daily Express]]|date=March 3, 2018}}</ref>