Cuba Gooding, Jr. has had a long and varied career in Hollywood. He is still actively working, but his first (and arguably best) role as Tre in Boyz n the Hood happened in 1991. By 1996, he had already won an Oscar for Jerry Maguire. After these successful roles, however, Cuba’s career took a slight turn and became less consistent when he was involved in some less-than-entertaining movies in the early 2000s, such as Daddy Day Camp, Boat Trip, and Chill Factor. Of course, for those of us growing up in the early 2000s, one shining light is his principal role in Snow Dogs, which is one of the most memorable movies of that time even though it is by no means a “good” movie in the way that Boyz n the Hood or Jerry Maguire are “good” movies.
Some of Cuba’s best roles are the ones when he explores situations of racial tension; his roles in movies that examine the myriad different ways black men have faced racism in their careers or lives tend to make for better viewing experiences. Cuba is good at picking these parts, whether it’s Men of Honor, The Tuskegee Men, Selma, The Butler, or even his smaller roles in American Gangster or Coming to America. It’s worth noting that while it's not a movie, undoubtedly one of Cuba’s best performances as an actor was his portrayal of O.J. Simpson in the television series American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson on FX, which earned him a very well deserved Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. All in all, most of Cuba’s roles are supporting ones.
The bottom line is that if you’re looking for a movie with some Cuba Gooding, Jr. in it, you’ll definitely find lots, and it may be hard to decide which one to watch first. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the movies the actor’s been involved with that are most worth your time. Read below for the Best Cuba Gooding, Jr. movies.