Cuba Michael Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award–winning role as Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996). Other notable films he has appeared in include Boyz n the Hood (1991), A Few Good Men (1992), As Good as It Gets (1997), The Fighting Temptations (2003), American Gangster (2007), The Butler (2013) and Selma (2014).