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" I am admiring of my fellow peers, black filmmakers and black actors and actresses. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Am
Peers
I Am
Related Quotes:
" I worked so much when my first son was born that I missed a lot. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Missed
Son
First
" When you see my performances, even people that you might have known, like Nicky Barnes in 'American Gangster,' you have to get over the fact that I look like Cuba Gooding, Jr. But once you find truth in the performance, if I'm doing my job right, you believe everything. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
People
Truth
American
" I think police officers are modern day heroes. I think they protect us. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Day
Us
Heroes
" I have had this interesting love affair with London and England, though I don't know how London feels about me. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Interesting
Love
Me
" Don't let people disrespect you. My mom says don't open the door to the devil. Surround yourself with positive people. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Positive
Yourself
Mom
" 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.
You
Matter
Opinions
" 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.
Own
I Can
Movies
" I rewind the TV every two minutes. If someone does something interesting, I have to see it over and over again. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Someone
Interesting
Over
" 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.
Moment
Laugh
Winning
" I think the biggest compliment an actor can have is if people forget who they're watching and get lost in the character. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Character
Forget
Lost
" When I won the Oscar, I fell into that mind-set that this is a precious role. People everywhere were shouting, 'Show me the money!' I just didn't want anything that could parody the fact that I was like a tagline in a movie. So when Steven Spielberg offered me 'Amistad,' I said no; when 'Hotel Rwanda' came along, I said no. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Me
Hotel
Said
" When you're watching a movie and find yourself getting emotional, it's because you're bringing something personal to the images. It's the same thing with acting. You're bringing the essence of your core emotional being to that moment. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Yourself
You
Moment
" 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.
Storytelling
Diversity
Feel
" I was a fan of football. I was more of a Raiders fan, but I knew who O.J. was. I knew The Juice, and I remember the Hertz commercials with him running to the airport and whatnot. So he was a highbrow celebrity in my eyes. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Eyes
Remember
Airport
" My wife and I have been together since 1986. I graduated in '86 and she graduated in '88. We began dating when she was 17. Actually she turned 18 when we started kissing and stuff. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Dating
Wife
Together
" The hardest part was when I was in high school not having a job and always being broke. I had to get to auditions without a car. I either took the bus or walked. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
School
Always
High School
" Before I was an actor I was a break dancer, one of those street performers you see. I guess my introduction into the professional world of performing was a stint as back up dancer for Lionel Richie and I performed at the closing ceremony at the '84 Olympics. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Street
You
World
" 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 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.
Pride
Time
Excellence
" 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.
Television
Lucky
Film
" 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.
Want
You
Know
" It's a director's job to tell a story and he's very well versed in telling stories with a bit of comedy in them and keeping the pace of the movie right and that's exactly what he did. He was observant of a world he didn't understand but he told a wonderful story. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Story
Understand
Comedy
" I've been given that gift of working with Jack Nicholson and James Coburn and certain people who just out of nowhere break into stories - talking about working with Alfred Hitchcock or Kubrick. That's my real reward of my career. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Reward
Career
People
" I have never made a decision based on race and never will. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Never
Will
Race
" It wears on your soul when you take on the mental state of a dark character. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Dark
Mental
Soul
" It's the director's job to piece together my performance, his interpretation of my takes, each take, and string them together and make a statement. I'm red paint on a canvas for a painter. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Paint
Together
Red
" It took me a month to get out of the mindset of O.J. But even now, still, I think it might have done something to my vocal chords. I went to see the doctor, and he was like, 'I don't see anything. You're fine.' But mentally, I might have broke a little bit. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Doctor
You
Think
" 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.
Truth
Healing
Job
" I'm not a prude. On the set, they called me 'Butt Naked.' "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Me
Set
Naked
" I was in the wilderness of Hollywood for almost ten years. I was off the studio lists. I wasn't getting the roles offered to actors that hadn't done a third of the roles I had done or had the popularity I had. "
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Done
Hollywood
Years