A Quote by Cuba Gooding, Jr.

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.
I always had acting work when I needed it. I think that is why, when I watch films or TV series in America, I find in small roles or in supporting roles really amazing faces, where I have the feeling these people have actually had a life outside of acting. I find it almost a pity that I've never done anything else.
One of the first speaking roles I had was in a film called 'Svengali', with Peter O'Toole and Elizabeth Ashley. I was a waiter, and I had about three lines. And I was ready! I had been around people like that, and I knew they were just actors. All the work I had done, it was all there, and I felt like I knew all the mechanics.
Everything I've done was above board, as an actor I wanted to do two things. I wanted to entertain as well as get a message across. I never did no pimp roles, no negative roles, or anything like that. I had fun, everything I've done I'm proud to take my mother to.
Honestly, I'm willing to experiment with far more variety in roles than I'm given. But ultimately, it's the producer's decision. But, I've done a variety of roles - the evil don, the evil husband... I've done villainous roles, supporting roles, etc.
I hate it when people slag us off. We had done three tours during 1970 and we finished off feeling we had just about had enough. We had done so much in that short space of time, we were drained.
So fully am I impressed with the vast importance and necessity of attaining what will be the object of my motion this night, that if, during the almost forty years that I have had the honour of a seat in parliament, I had been so fortunate as to accomplish that, and that only, I should think I had done enough, and could retire from public life with comfort, and the conscious satisfaction, that I had done my duty.
I'm in a fortunate position that sometimes you just get offered roles - they're not necessarily the roles you take, but to get offered a film is amazing. I think the work you've done before that is why you get it.
It's been almost 10 years since I had done an out-and-out action movie, as I have also been diversifying into roles of other genre.
At times, I have had the opportunity to play character roles in movies like 'Kathavasheshan.' Still, I act in all the roles I am offered if it has something special.
When Kamal Haasan did 'Nayakan,' he had done a few roles that had him aged and demanded a lot of commitment from. He was already a veteran and a master.
I had grand visions of being in professional sports. But when reality set in, I went, 'Oh, OK. I'll just move to Hollywood and be an actor.' I didn't want to look back on my life and wonder, 'What if I had done this? Or I had done that?'
I think you're stereotyped after every film. Post 'Dev D,' I was only offered bold roles. Similarly, after 'Margarita With A Straw,' I was offered roles where I had to play differently-abled people. So, no matter what type of film you work in, people tend to slot you.
I could play Arab roles, even German roles, Italian roles because I had that look.
I'm a character actor and that's what I do. All the roles that I've had have been mainly support roles, because character actors don't usually get the lead in movies. It rarely happens.
I guess if you have had a good education as opposed to someone who hasn't been to school, you start off on this journey having studied Shakespeare for years and years or studied classics. I suppose why people see this big divide - the boarding school boys getting all the roles - is because they feel like some people have had a head start.
There have been films I have said no to and there are roles that I wish I had done.
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