Cuba Gooding, Jr. (INTERVIEW)
Cuba Gooding, Jr
The “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”
Interview
with Kam Williams
Show Me The Butler!
Cuba
Gooding, Jr. was born in the Bronx on January 2, 1968, but raised in Los Angeles from the age
of 4 on. Best known for his Oscar-winning portrayal of the charmingly-arrogant
Rod “Show Me the Money!” Tidwell in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, he first
found fame in 1991 when he received critical acclaim for his performance in
John Singleton’s coming-of-age classic Boyz n the Hood.
Cuba followed-up
that success with roles in As Good as It Gets, What Dreams May Come, and the
Oscar-nominated A Few Good Men. The versatile thespian’s repertoire also includes
roles in pictures ranging from Red Tails to Radio to Men of Honor to Pearl Harbor to American Gangster to Shadowboxer to Boat
Trip to Snow Dogs to Norbit.
Among his
upcoming big screen projects are Don Jon and the sequel Machete Kills. On television,
he played the title character in the award-winning Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson
Story, as well as in Firelight, the highest rated Hallmark Hall of Fame movie
ever.
A decade
ago, Cuba’s
extraordinary achievements were recognized when he was awarded with a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here, he talks about his work opposite Forest
Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey in Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
Kam
Williams: Hi Cuba, appreciate the time.
Cuba Gooding, Jr: Anytime, Kam. How are ya,
buddy?
KW:
Great, and you?
CG:
Very well, thank you.
KW:
What interested you in The Butler?
CG:
Well, to give you a little history, Lee Daniels and I had been friends even
before he was a producer, manager or casting director. When he offered me the
role of the shadowboxer in Shadowboxer, I was invited into the editing room. We’ve
done this thing throughout his career from Precious on, where he sends me
screenplays that he’s considering. So, I feel like this is an invested
relationship I have with him. He sent me this screenplay about five years ago,
suggesting that I might be the butler.
KW:
Were you upset when you didn’t land the title role?
CG:
No, one thing led to another in casting choices, and now I couldn’t imagine
this movie without Forest Whitaker playing the
lead and Oprah playing his wife. I think they’re both deserving of Oscar
nominations. Their relationship in the movie’s so powerful, and so is Forest’s with David Oyelowo’s character.
KW:
You did a great job, too.
CG:
Thanks. It just feels so good to be involved again with a movie that’s socially
relevant. I recently met a 27 year-old white male who admitted that he didn’t
know about the sit-ins until seeing this movie’s scene with the kids being refused
service in a segregated diner. And it hit me how we can so easily forget,
because I’m in my forties. There’s such a disconnect from the next generation
in terms of all the brutality. That’s why it feels good to be a part of this
film which revisits that time period and talks about what transpired.
KW:
Especially because it tackles the material from a fresh
perspective.
CG:
It’s interesting, too, because when Django Unchained came out, so many people
were alienated by it, while others who thought it was just a really cool ride
from Quentin Tarantino said, “Get over it!” If you look at the latter group, a
lot of them were really young kids who had a disconnect from slavery. To them,
all they saw was their hero being freed, shooting back, saving the day and
getting his girl. It’s funny, I started dating my wife, who’s Caucasian with
blonde hair and blue eyes, in 1987. I got hate mail when I did Boyz n the Hood
saying stuff like, “I can’t believe your girlfriend is white.” But I hadn’t
grown up in the South back in the days when blacks were lynched for even
looking at a white woman. And when you look at what I did today, it’s
elementary compared to the attention being paid to the issue of same-sex
marriage. So, we’ve moved away for the better, but we just can’t afford to
forget all the sacrifices and trials and tribulations.
KW:
How much research did you have to do to prepare for the
role?
CG:
Well, I’d been researching and gathering information on the subject for several
years for both this script and for a Martin Luther King story about Selma. So, it’s a time
period I’d already become pretty well-versed in.
KW:
Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier asks: How similar are you to
your character in The Butler, Carter Wilson?
CG:
I AM that guy! [LOL] Sometimes, I can be pretty goofy, and a bit of an
exhibitionist. I don’t think I’m quite as free with the lips as he is, but I
can tell a joke or two. Some of those lines I ad-libbed.
KW:
How emotionally affected were you seeing the film for the
first time?
CG:
I was a wreck. I sat and hugged Pam [producer Pam Williams] like someone had
died in the family. And, to be honest with you, Kam, it wasn’t so much the
history lesson, but simply that my eldest son who’s 18 was going off to
college, and I couldn’t get back to L.A. to see him off when he left because I
was stuck in New York. The father-son relationship just hit me, man, especially
the scene where Cecil Gaines says goodbye to his son departing for college.
What I experienced wasn’t a feeling of sadness, but rather a realization of
this higher calling in life, and how we’re all a part of this chain.
KW:
Speaking of your being in New York, Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How
did you enjoy being on Broadway? What play were you doing, A Trip to Bountiful?
CG:
Yes, sir, since February. I loved it. I actually started in theater, that’s
where an agent found me in ’86, I was doing a Shakespeare festival. On the
stage, if you don’t understand every word of what you’re saying, it is apparent
in your countenance. So, I was always about living the character. Then I got
stolen away by TV where I got my start as MacGyver’s sidekick for awhile which
was easy to phone in. You know the guy, you know the peril, and you know how to
save the day. So, I leapt at this opportunity to go back, and it reignited my
creativity. Just to be across from Cicely Tyson on that stage every day, was
great. My creative passion is back!
KW:
Harriet also asks: With so many classic films being redone, is there a remake you'd
like to star in?
CG:
That’s an interesting question I’ve never been asked. Just last night,
literary, I was sitting around talking with some friends about those old movies
with a Broadway theme. Maybe one of those.
KW:
The Viola Davis question: What’s the difference between who you are at home as
opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?
CG:
Well, I smile a lot more on the red carpet.
KW:
The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would
you choose?
CG:
I would fly. I’ve been dreaming about flying since I was 5 years-old.
KW:
The Gabby Douglas question: If you had to choose another
profession, what would that be?
CG:
Social work. Or maybe coaching kids sports. I’ve always been a people person.
It would have to be something where I could help people.
KW:
Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: What is your favorite
charity?
CG:
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America
is one of them. I have a few.
KW:
Can you give me a Cuba Gooding, Jr. question to ask other
celebrities?
CG:
Yeah, what still scares you?
KW:
Thanks, and thanks again for the time, Cuba.
CG:
My pleasure, Kam.
To see a trailer for Lee
Daniels’ The Butler, visit:
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