Trivia

Was a backup dancer for Paula Abdul.

Break danced in the 1984 closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles

He and his wife Sara were high school sweethearts.

Is an avid hockey player and has a rink in his back yard.

Born in the Bronx but raised in Los Angeles, his parents once managed the Apollo Theatre in New York.

Suggested by Roger Moore to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

Was discovered by eccentric Hollywood agent, Coralie Jr., for his break-dancing talent. He thanked Coralie in his acceptance speech when he received the academy award for his best supporting role in Jerry Maguire (1996).

Son of Cuba Gooding, lead singer of The Main Ingredient singing group ("Everybody Plays The Fool").

In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, he listed turning down lead roles in Amistad (1997), Collateral (2004), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Ray (2004), and The Last King of Scotland (2006) as serious errors of judgment ("I'm kicking my balls in this interview").

Sons: Spencer Gooding, born in 1994, and Mason Gooding, born in 1996.

He and his wife welcomed their third child, a daughter, in Fall 2005. Her name is Piper and no other details have been released.

As of 2021, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: A Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), As Good as It Gets (1997) and Selma (2014).

When Cuba became a member of AMPAS in 1993, he was sponsored by actors Dustin Hoffman and Kevin Spacey.

He was a non-celebrity contestant on The All-New Dating Game (1986) (approx 1986) He was contestant #1. The woman passed him up and chose contestant #2.

His father, Cuba Gooding, is a Goodwill Ambassador to Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. On Dec. 5. 2009, he received a "key" to the city from Mayor Torres.

Older brother of Omar Gooding.

Turned down the leading role of Cinque in Amistad (1997).

Attended John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills his junior year. There, he joined the drama club, stage crew and ran cross country. That year, 1986, he appeared in the California Shakespeare Festival where he won first place in his portrayal of "Othello".

Enjoys vacations in Hawaii with his family and goes there often.

He played a role in the MacGyver (1985) episode, The Coltons (1991), which was the pilot to a series about the Colton Brothers. However, the pilot did not sell and so the series never was produced.

Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. (1997)

Lives in Pacific Palisades and Porter Ranch, California.

Occasionally plays a member of the armed forces or law enforcement. He played "Petty Officer Doris Miller" in Pearl Harbor (2001), "Senior Chief Carl Brashear" in Men of Honor (2000), "Corporal Carl Hammaker" in A Few Good Men (1992) and "Officer Alvarez" in Hitz (1992).

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Boyz n the Hood (1991).

Cuba Gooding Jr. is in Ottawa filming Sacrifice (2011) , a $6.8-million drama that also stars actor Christian Slater. (April 2010)

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43. (1991)