Cuba Gooding Jr. on His Small Screen Resurgence
The actor said he and director Ryan Murphy are 'connected at the hip.'
— -- He showed us the money as Rod Tidwell in “Jerry Maguire.” He made us cry as a mentally handicapped man in “Radio.” His portrayal of O.J. Simpson in ”The People v. O.J. Simpson" won accolades.
What's next for Cuba Gooding Jr.? Ryan's Murphy's “American Horror Story."
After spending the day at the Watts-Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles for the Maytag Dependable Leader Awards, Gooding caught up with ABC News about his newfound partnership with the director.
“We are officially connected at the hip like Siamese twins in terms of my creative life,” Gooding said.
“When Ryan calls you and says, ‘Hey can you do this? Would you like to do that?’ It’s an immediate yes, no matter what it is,” he explained. “That’s how I felt when I first met him and now, going on two years later. It’s just been an honor – it’s been a treat.”
Gooding will be reunited with his ”The People v. O.J. Simpson” co-star Sarah Paulson, who played head prosecutor Marcia Clark.
“It’s really been a treat to finally engage with her on camera, because when we did ‘The People v. O.J.’ it was more about my scenes and then her scenes and us being in the courtroom but separate,” Gooding said. “But we’re not separate no more!”
Gooding is referring to the “heightened sexuality” of the show's sixth season, though he would divulge little else about the upcoming episodes.
“You’ll see a whole lot more of Cuba Gooding Jr. on the series,” he joked.
Gooding admitted that before Murphy asked him to sign on, he wasn’t a fan of the show. “I don’t like scary shows and things,” he confessed. To prepare for the role the Oscar winner binge-watched the entire series. And what he saw was the "brilliance that is that Murphy brand."
Gooding, 48, has plenty more projects coming down the pike and said the last few months have been a "whirlwind."
He said he was grateful for the recognition his work is receiving with critics and viewers.
“Whenever your career, whenever your performances, whenever your work has moved somebody emotionally enough to say, ’This is a form of excellence to me,’ you know that you’re doing God’s will,” he said. “And it just gives me such a sense of pride and accomplishment.”