Cuba Gooding Jr.
Known for
His cry of "Show me the money!" was etched into the collective memory. Cuba Gooding Jr. (The Bronx, New York, 1968) burst onto the scene in the urban drama 'Boyz n the Hood' (1991) and reached the top by winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as the arrogant and vulnerable athlete of 'Jerry Maguire' (1996). He strung together popular titles like 'Outbreak', 'Men of Honor', and 'There's Something About Mary', before a more uneven period from which he salvaged work such as his role in 'American Gangster'. His register moves from energetic comedy to emotional drama with a commitment that fills the screen with charisma.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
68 Movies
6 Series
His cry of "Show me the money!" was etched into the collective memory. Cuba Gooding Jr. (The Bronx, New York, 1968) burst onto the scene in the urban drama 'Boyz n the Hood' (1991) and reached the top by winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as the arrogant and vulnerable athlete of 'Jerry Maguire' (1996). He strung together popular titles like 'Outbreak', 'Men of Honor', and 'There's Something About Mary', before a more uneven period from which he salvaged work such as his role in 'American Gangster'. His register moves from energetic comedy to emotional drama with a commitment that fills the screen with charisma.
Movies
Plays Nicky Barnes
American Gangster
2007
Plays Buck (voice)
Home on the Range
2004
Plays Boy Getting Haircut
Coming to America
1988
Plays Dorie Miller
Pearl Harbor
2001
Plays Rod Tidwell
Jerry Maguire
1996
Plays Frank Sachs
As Good as It Gets
1997
Plays Deion Hughes
Norbit
2007
Plays Cpl. Carl Hammaker
A Few Good Men
1992
Plays Owen Templeton
Rat Race
2001
Plays Tré Styles
Boyz n the Hood
1991
Plays Cuba Gooding Jr.
Zoolander
2001
Plays Hollywood Actor #2
Don Jon
2013
Plays Albert Lewis
What Dreams May Come
1998
Plays Major Salt
Outbreak
1995
Plays Senior Chief Carl Brashear
Men of Honor
2000
Plays El Camaleón 2
Machete Kills
2013
Plays Xavier
Life in a Year
2020
Plays Javier Cardona
A Line of Fire
2025
Plays Radio
Radio
2003
Plays Carter Wilson
The Butler
2013
Plays Jerry Robinson
Boat Trip
2002
Plays Ben Carson
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
2009
Plays Bomb Squad Class Member
Blown Away
1994
Plays Balthazar
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
2024
Plays Charlie Hinton
Daddy Day Camp
2007
Plays Ted Brooks
Snow Dogs
2002
Plays Dr. Theo Caulder
Instinct
1999
Plays Abraham Lincoln Haines
Gladiator
1992
Plays Major Emanuelle Stance
Red Tails
2012
Plays Fred Gray
Selma
2014
Plays Mack
The Devil's Tomb
2009
Plays Mike Peterson
Judgment Night
1993
Plays Captain Marcus Monroe
Quantum Supremacy
2026
Plays Agent Alex Thomas
End Game
2006
Plays Eddie Hughes
Losing Isaiah
1995
Plays Eugene Brown
Life of a King
2013
Plays Liam Case
Hero Wanted
2008
Plays Blue
The Weapon
2023
Plays Jonas Arbor
The Hit List
2011
Plays Loofah (voice)
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
2007
Plays Darrin Hill
The Fighting Temptations
2003
Producer
Plays Lawson Russell
A Murder of Crows
1999
Plays Ben Doyle
Lightning Jack
1994
Plays Ray Carver
One in the Chamber
2012
Plays Cuba Gooding Jr.
Welcome to Hollywood
2000
Plays Isaac
Lies & Illusions
2009
Plays John Nelson
Absolute Deception
2013
Plays Salim Adel
Dirty
2005
Plays Luke Gibson
Hardwired
2009
Plays Joshua
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
2009
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Quantum Supremacy
Full Filmography
Quantum Supremacy
Captain Marcus Monroe
2026
Film
Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws
Sheriff Jacobs
2025
Film
A Line of Fire
Javier Cardona
2025
Film
The Firing Squad
Samuel Wilson
2024
Film
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
Balthazar
2024
Film
Skeletons in the Closet
Andres
2024
Film
The Weapon
Blue
2023
Film
Life in a Year
Xavier
2020
Film
Bayou Caviar
Rodney Jones
2018
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Cuba Gooding Jr. and where are they from?
Cuba Gooding Jr. is 58 years old, born on January 2, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.
What are the most famous roles of Cuba Gooding Jr.?
Cuba Gooding Jr. is best known for roles in Pearl Harbor, American Gangster, Zoolander.
How many movies has Cuba Gooding Jr. been in?
Over a 38-year career (since 1988), Cuba Gooding Jr. has appeared in 68 movies and 6 TV shows.
What was Cuba Gooding Jr.'s first movie?
The career of Cuba Gooding Jr. began with Coming to America (1988).
What is Cuba Gooding Jr.'s most recent movie or series?
Cuba Gooding Jr.'s most recent release is Quantum Supremacy, which premiered on February 16, 2026.
What TV shows has Cuba Gooding Jr. appeared in?
On television, Cuba Gooding Jr. has appeared in American Horror Story, American Crime Story, MacGyver, Empire.
Does Cuba Gooding Jr. have any upcoming projects?
Yes, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s upcoming work includes: Atlas King (2026).
Cuba Gooding Jr.
1968-01-02 · The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
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.