by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Cuba Gooding’s enthusiasm for acting was poignantly expressed in his famous line in Jerry Maguire, “Show me the money.” Gooding won an Oscar for that role. Since then, he has worked steadily in various movie projects, including his highly acclaimed role in Radio, in which he played a mentally handicapped man with such insight and compassion the role became a benchmark for Gooding.
Born in 1968 in the Bronx, his father, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead vocalist in the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit song, “Everybody Plays the Fool.” Gooding Sr. moved the family to Los Angeles, but left shortly thereafter. Despite this traumatic event in his life, Gooding Jr. maintained a positive outlook. After graduating from high school, Gooding studied Japanese martial arts for three years before turning his focus to acting. Recently, Gooding received a star on Hollywood Boulevard and lives in Studio City, California with his wife Sara, who he married in 1994.
Presently, Gooding has four films in the can, the latest of which is Daddy Day Camp, a sequel to Daddy Day Care to be released August 10th. More significantly, Gooding reunited with director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe from Gladiator in Scott’s new film American Gangster to be released in September.
Last Friday, EU talked to Gooding about his roles in both pictures, with an emphasis on Daddy Day Camp.
EU: I see that you’ve been busy with four new films, including American Gangster with Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. That’s exciting. But you probably had a ball working in your last film, Daddy Day Camp. Am I right about that?
Cuba: Yes, we rented a real camp near Park City, Utah and spent 5 weeks filming there. It was so much fun. The kids were great. We’d get ‘moose alerts’ because, as I found out, moose are dangerous animals and kill a number of people every year. The weather was weird. One day it was warm and the next day we had snow. The picture was directed by Fred Savage.
EU: Fred Savage–wow the last time I saw him he was a kid in The Wonder Years. Tell me what was it like working with Fred?
Cuba: It was a great experience. Fred did a very wise thing. After The Wonder Years and some less-than-great acting assignments, Fred went to film school and got his degree in filmmaking. When we had a lunch meeting about me doing this film, he had everything mapped out. I was impressed by his professionalism, so I agreed to do the picture. Having been a child actor, Fred could relate to the kids in the film. The biggest problem with child actors is to get them to act like real kids. Most of them are home-schooled and are around adults all the time. So they have to be taught how to act like typical kids. He really worked well with them.
EU: Yeah, he’s like Ron Howard, making the leap to directing after his years as a child actor. In this film, you play a hapless dad, Charlie Hinton, who has no knowledge of the outdoors, trying to cope with the camp experience in a dilapidated facility and a bunch of wild kids?
Cuba: I worked with Paul Rae, the other dad, who helps me run the day camp. In the story, Charlie is up against foreclosure, and he has to call his estranged father, Col. Buck Hinton, played by Richard Gant. We had a blast working together and Rae is very funny and great with the kids. The movie deals with the problems of a father-son relationship which is the serious part of the script.
EU: I’m excited about Ridley Scott’s new film but I know it’s too early for you to talk about it. Maybe we can talk again when American Gangster gets closer to its release date.
Cuba: Yeah, that would be great, I’m excited about that film as well as the release of Daddy Day Camp.
I picked up Cuba’s positive vibes during our chat. He’s an up person and easy to converse with and he deserves his success. Cuba came off as a regular guy who loves his work.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
