"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
"Hopefully, soon there will be so many Black actors that we won't have to make a big deal about Oscars. And making a big deal about it doesn't help the work. When that question came up, I was lace, 'Here we go. Let's move on.' I don't want to demean the question in any way. I'd rather focus on the positive." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"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
"I wish I had stuck to the script a little more at the Oscars. I had specific people I wanted to talk about. I just didn't get to it and then the music chimed in and I kind of freaked out and then it went down again. That's when I should have started talking again!" - Cuba Gooding Jr
"I'm not a prude. On the set, they called me 'Butt Naked.'" - Cuba Gooding Jr
"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
"Jonathan Lynn is one of the last actors Orsen Welles used in a production. It was wonderful. He's very sharp, very sharp. It's funny I've been asked how weird it was to have a Brit do a church gospel movie." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"Life has definitely changed. It's different now. I play ice hockey with some guys, and before the movie and the Oscar, maybe a couple of girlfriends of theirs would show up. But now there's a crowd of people around. And when I go into stores, there's a period when everybody comes over and congratulates me." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"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
"Now, I have big-money offers on three movies, and I have director approval. That's kind of scary,' he says. 'No directors have been attached. That's a lot of pressure on me." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"Outbreak's director Wolfgang Peterson called me in and goes, 'Cuba, you remember me from that time in the elevator at the Boyz premiere and I told you that you were great in the movie? And we should work together.' That's how I got the part in Outbreak." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"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
"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
"There are roles I want that my agency might not want me to do because of the subject matter or whatever. Or there are roles that people won't bring to me because they don't think I'll do it. And that is a big strain because an actor wants to act." - Cuba Gooding Jr
"When I'm not shooting films, I just stay at home. There's so much activity m my life that I just enjoy the quiet time." - Cuba Gooding Jr
