Cuba Gooding Jr. Quotes

I'm an actor and it happened to go my way that day.

If I am convinced with the storyline and get an opportunity to play a powerful role, I would.

I think I'm an actor. You can hire me. I can do a good job. But you also have to get lucky now and then. Every film-maker knows how hard it is to do a good film. You have to just make many, and see how lucky you get.

People know my background and for people who need an improviser, I'm one of the people they think to use if I'm appropriate for the part.

As an actor, when you go for auditions, there are certain roles that come along and you think, 'I really want that one,' and Prince Arthur was definitely one of those.

I never look at the size of the film when I'm looking for a part.

I think I was first choice for the part. I don't know - that's what they always tell you anyway. I didn't have to do any audition for the part. Sam saw me in Dinner and the whole thing slipped into place.

I tested on a lot of TV shows and films after I finished drama school.

When I auditioned for Tim Robbins for 'Cradle Will Rock,' the young girl who read with me was very young, and I said to Tim, 'I'm sorry, but I don't have enough imagination to pretend this girl is my husband!' And he said, 'Well, I'll read it with you.' Which was very nice; he was the director. And I ended up getting the part.

I have to say that as an actor, I really look for the role. I'm not really looking to see if it's for television or film, because there are highly talented people in both mediums.

From being a writer of plays, it was not that surprising that somebody thought of giving me a job as an actor. After I played one part, others came along.

I'm an actor. I'm hired to play whatever it is they want me to play - if I'm lucky enough to be cast for the part - which seems to take a lot of luck these days.

There were certain films where I went, 'Oh, my God, I'm doing a movie.'

Everybody reads for me. I was never weird about that. I never minded coming in and reading. They should know if I'm the right person, and I should know if I want to do a movie.

I actually love auditioning because I usually don't get the part. I've tested with Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Tom Cruise. So I've gotten to that point, and I understand when I don't get it. There are a lot of very talented people out there.

If you go in and audition for roles rather than just be offered them, then you kind of get a chance to kind of discover that you can do something that you didn't think you could do.

I'm not interested in going after a part. I think if someone wants me for a part and approaches me then I'll take it on a case-by-case basis and see what that part is.

But acting just sort of happened and I found that I loved it. It was such a challenge.

If I am not right for something there are many talented actors out there that will get it.

I never played the right roles, or very rarely got the right roles offered, except on stage.

T.V.'s weird because it's both the greatest gig as an actor potentially because it can be all this work for all this time, but there are so many question marks at every stage of the process.

If I were to be cast as Cyrano or a Connecticut prep-school teacher or a gay boutique owner, it would only happen if some director I had worked with in the past said, 'Why don't we give Rispoli a shot at it?'

If I get a chance to act, I will act. And then I'm usually the happiest person around.

After my last audition for 'Game of Thrones,' they said, 'Congratulations, princess.' I was like, 'Bye-bye, call centre.'

I am always looking for a great play and a great part to do.