7 Actors Whose Film Careers Went Downhill After Winning An Oscar

2. Cuba Gooding Jr.

Oscar Win: Best Supporting Actor, Jerry Maguire, 1997 It cannot be understated just how big of a hit Jerry Maguire was when it first came out. While Tom Cruise was at the height of his powers in the mid-90s, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s performance as Rod Tidwell is largely the reason why the film's still memorable. "Show me the money" became such a ubiquitous catchphrase that it basically wore out its welcome by the end of the decade. Cuba Gooding had built up a solid, albeit unspectacular acting career up to this point; Jerry Maguire was the film that would make him a star. Except, that's not exactly what happened. After a solid supporting role in As Good As It Gets that following year, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s career soon took a sharp turn south. While he tried his best to capitalize on his success with spirited performances in What Dreams May Come, Men of Honor, and Pearl Harbor, Cuba never again received the same adulation as he did with Jerry Maguire. By the early 2000s, he was squandering his talent in terrible comedies and nowadays, he's been stuck in direct-to-video hell. He still occasionally shows up in high-profile movies such as American Gangster and Lee Daniels' The Butler, but his days as a leading man in Hollywood appear to be long over.