AUGUST 8, 2007—Showing Cuba Gooding, Jr. the money probably was the worst thing to happen to the Jerry Maguire Oscar winner.

Gooding seemed to make one bad choice after another in the years following his electrifying turn as pro-footballer Rod Tidwell. Rather than try to build upon his breakthrough performances in Boyz N the Hood and Jerry Maguire, Gooding instead elected to make a slew of mediocre thrillers (Chill Factor, End Game, Instinct, A Murder of Crows) and embarrassing comedies (Boat Trip, The Fighting Temptations, Snow Dogs) that overshadowed the fine work he did in Dirty and Men of Honor.

After seemingly swearing off comedies, Gooding’s attempting a comeback of sorts that’s predicated on again trying to make audiences laugh. Hot on the heels of starring opposite Eddie Murphy in Norbit, Gooding replaces Murphy in the new Daddy Day Care sequel, Daddy Day Camp.

Building on his recent dramatic turns in the little-seen Dirty and Shadowboxer, Gooding will join Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s crime saga American Gangster. He’s also completed two thrillers, Hero Wanted and Linewatch, and is about to shoot the high school comedy Harold.

Gooding spoke with Film South Florida about inheriting the Daddy Day Care franchise from Eddie Murphy, being directed by The Wonder Years’s Fred Savage, and trying to put his post-Oscars mistakes behind him.

Film South Florida: Why replace Eddie Murphy as Charlie Hinson in Daddy Day Camp?

Cuba Gooding, Jr. I don’t do sequels to my own films, let alone Eddie Murphy’s. I’m not in that business. But when I read the script, it not only had heart, but it also explored a troubled father-son relationship and the healing process. My father (singer Cuba Gooding) and I were estranged after my mother split. So it hit home, and because of that issue being in the script, it didn’t feel like a sequel or a re-imagining [of Daddy Day Care]. It made a really a fresh statement. In fact, we joked on a set that if we did another sequel, it would have to be called Daddy Day Camp II.

Film South Florida: Granted, Charlie Hinson isn’t as beloved or iconic as Axel Foley, but how tough was it for you take possession of an character already established by Murphy?

Gooding: I was invited to participate in a page-1 rewrite. I’m telling you, everything changed, including references to the first movie. There’s jokes about Star Trek in the first movie. When we were filming, I didn’t get why we had this Star Trek joke. I was told it was in reference to the jokes in the first movie. But it wasn’t funny, and I had the complete freedom to remove it. So this process helped the character speak to me.

Film South Florida: You worked with Murphy on Norbit. Did you ask for his blessing to take over the franchise?

Gooding: I got the offer [for Daddy Day Camp] during the last week of shooting Norbit. But I read the script when we finished Norbit. I asked the obvious question about why Eddie passed on it—it was a scheduling thing. But I never felt the need to call Eddie and ask for his OK to do it. It was a wonderfully told story, so I had to be involved in it.

Film South Florida: What did you first think when you heard The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage was in the running to direct Daddy Day Camp?

Gooding: When I was given the list of directors, he was among the first of three I agreed to see. I had some resistance. I wanted a feature director, not someone from TV. We brought in him, and at the end of the two-and-a-half meeting, I felt he was more like a director than an actor. He was the best choice. Watching him work with the kids, you could tell how much attention he paid to what was going on on the set, as he knew what they were going through. [The child actors] did not understand the rehearsal process, or that you had to shoot things time and time again. And there were times when we had to do off-camera dialogue, and they wouldn’t be paying attention or they would be picking their nose. He helped them stay focused.

Film South Florida: You told the New York Times last year that, “I thought people wanted me to make them laugh. But I was wrong on so many levels.” That statement was clearly made in reference to such career-threatening comedies as Boat Trip, Rat Race and Snow Dogs. What made you change your mind about doing another comedy so soon after making that statement?

Gooding: I had been introduced on film in Boys N the Hood, which had a very heavy subject matter. I had a lot of success with Men of Honor, Radio and definitely Jerry Maguire, which also had a lot of seriousness to my performance. I tried to tackle comedy with Snow Dogs and Boat Trip … and then I tackled a couple films with a lot of heavy material, including Dirty and Shadowboxer. It really brought stillness to me. When I did that interview, I was still in a period of discovery, at where I was in my career, what position I was in, and what roles were available. I’m blessed to be able to go back and forth [between comedy and drama], and that’s the product of doing work in both areas. The movie that made me become an actor was Superman. How beautiful was Marlon Brando and what would have been his take on his role [as Superman’s father] had he been 27? The older you get, the more you realize your job is to entertain. I can be a court jester, but I’m also comfortable doing different roles.

Film South Florida: You also told the New York Times that, “As a commercial entity, I know my stock is low.” How do you think Norbit, Daddy Day Camp and your upcoming films will change this?

Gooding: It’s like writing a book—you don’t know if people will read it. My job is go to work and it’s someone else’s job to evaluate it. The producers of The Wizard of Oz might have thought it failed when it was released, but now it’s a classic. I don’t want to put that onus on how my career’s going to go—I want to find new ways to do my work. I’m working now. I have four films in the can, and I’m about to start working on two movies, including Harold, which I’m producing and starring in.

Film South Florida: What is Hero Wanted about?

Gooding: Hero Wanted, which is with Ray Liotta, touches on the psychology of instant celebrity. We don’t know the background of these people. Rodney King took a beating, people praised him, and then he turned out to have an interesting past. I also did a film with [All About the Benjamins director] Kevin Bray, Linewatch, about a border patrol officer. It’s another physical movie, so I’ve followed one edgy thriller with another.

Film South Florida: What stands out the most to you about winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Jerry Maguire?

Gooding: It’s like when you win a radio all-you-can-grab giveaway. You don’t stop and think—you just throw all the shit you can in the cart. I was given so many awards, and the Oscar was the crème de la crème. I went on a European tour with Tom Cruise, flying in a private jet. The commercials kept coming. I was just running with it. It wasn’t until three or four years later that the heat started to wane and the box office potential waned, that I realized how many opportunities I didn’t capitalize on. It took a while to come off that high. I liked being in the eye of the storm, and there were so many people coming in and out of my life. It was a whirlwind. And it was tough on my wife. She would come home followed by the paparazzi.

Film South Florida: Is there such a thing as an Oscar curse? Or is that just a lazy and convenient way for some actors to explain why their careers have cooled off in the years after winning an Academy Award?

Gooding: Curse is inappropriate. When I think of that, of think of something supernatural. It suggests there are forces beyond our control. It does force a rift in the production of work from an actor wins. An actor celebrates his success. It’s a time to reflect. Hollywood decides what the win means as far as your quote goes. And there’s a real tangible risk to the process. You know, you read a script that’s brilliant. But it takes a year or two before the film goes into production. So if you don’t read a script for eight months, it’s going take two years before your next film hits the screen.

Film South Florida: How do you think your win paved the way for such other Academy Award-winning African-American actors as Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Hudson, Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker? With Hudson and Whitaker’s win this past year, it almost seems as though Oscar voters have finally seen past the color of the nominee’s skin.

Gooding: It’s nice to be among a handful of African Americans who have been recognized for their work, but when it comes to starring in a colossal tent-pole movie, there is still a short list of black actors who are acceptable as a leading man. The Academy changed its tune because … sexually and racially, it’s has a different complexion. That’s what’s brought about the open-mindedness. The Academy’s no longer just made up of elite members of the film community with a certain mindset on voting for their peers. The face of the Academy has changed. It would be interesting to see a survey how ethically and sexually diverse the Academy now is. But the criteria of what is a good performance has changed; it’s no longer what’s the race or sexuality of the person.

Daddy Day Camp opened August 8. Click here for more information.