Black History Milestones at the Oscars
Cuba Gooding Jr. – Youngest Male African American Oscar Winner
Cuba Gooding Jr – Youngest Male Oscar Winner
Cuba Gooding Jr. was the youngest male actor to win an Oscar and probably the most excited too. Winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in “Jerry Maguire” seemed like it would be a launching point for his career but it all seemed to go downhill after that which was very disappointing. Some think that his acceptance speech was a little over the top but given his youthful energy and the role he won for, I hardly think it was over the top.
Despite having his career on a downhill slope after the Oscars, I think that Cuba Gooding Jr. was incredibly underutilized in Hollywood. He’s an amazing actor who just failed to recover after some bad career moves. But despite where he may be today, he is still an icon for African American History.
Morgan Freeman – Oldest African American Male to win an Oscar
Morgan Freeman – Oldest African American Male Oscar Winner
Morgan Freeman became the oldest African American Male to win an Oscar when he won for his supporting role in “Million Dollar Baby.” He has been in the business for so long and had so many nominations, but despite being first nominated in 1989, he didn’t win until 2004.
When it comes to Morgan Freeman, I was truly shocked that the Academy took this long to give Morgan Freeman a win. His lead roles in “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Shawshank Redemption” were outstanding to say the least. When I think of his role of Redd in “The Shawshank Redemption” I see a milestone in film, not just for African Americans but for the industry as a whole. I will say that there was tough competition going up against Tom Hanks in “Philadelphia” but I do feel an iconic actor like Morgan Freeman should have got his Oscar win long before 2004.
