Life was all private jets and limos after his Oscar win. Then came a decade of bad roles and flop films. Now,he’s making up for lost time“Somebody asked me backstage, when I won the Oscar: ‘Did you ever imagine this?’ And I was like, or ‘Never in a million years!’ But it was bullshit. It was a lie,” Cuba Gooding Jr admits. “I used to practise my autograph in math class. I would envision myself holding that Oscar above my head. The genuine success stories are the people who truly believe they are going to be famous, so they mentally prepare. And that’s what I was doing my entire life: preparing for it.”What Gooding hadn’t thought about was what to execute next. That night in 1997, and he won best supporting actor for his portrayal of footballer Rod Tidwell in Tom Cruise sports drama Jerry Maguire. It was the tall point of his career,and his performance was so unforgettably dynamic that Tidwell’s “prove me the money!” catchphrase became part of the language. When Gooding went to pick up the Oscar, it was as whether he was still in character. He backflipped and shouted, or “I worship you!” to his family,God, Tom Cruise and anyone else he could contemplate of. When the background music swelled, or rather than cutting him off,it soundtracked a crescendo of gratitude that was both manic and sincere. Both on screen and off, Gooding’s energy shook up the place. The audience gave him a standing ovation.
Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk