Mason Gooding (born November 14, 1996) is an American actor. The son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr., he has appeared in television series and films. He had a recurring role in the television series ''

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy-drama series created by Stephen Levinson that aired for five seasons on HBO from June 21, 2015, to October 13, 2019. It stars Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as th ...

'' (2018) and a starring role in the teen drama series ''

Love, Victor ''Love, Victor'' is an American teen comedy drama television series created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, inspired by and set in the same world as the 2018 film ''Love, Simon''. The series premiered on June 17, 2020, on Hulu and ende ...

'' (2020–2022). He has also appeared in the films ''

Booksmart ''Booksmart'' is a 2019 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman. It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn De ...

'' (2019) and ''

Fall Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

'' (2022), portrayed Chad Meeks-Martin in '' Scream'' (2022) and ''

Scream VI ''Scream VI'' is a 2023 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. It is a sequel to '' Scream'' (2022) and the sixth installment in the ''Scream'' film series. ...

'' (2023), and most recently starred in ''

Heart Eyes ''Heart Eyes'' is a 2025 American romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben and written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon (who also produces), and Michael Kennedy. The film stars Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding as a pair of cow ...

'' (2025).

Early life

Gooding was born on November 14, 1996, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to Sara Kapfer and Cuba Gooding Jr. He is the middle of three children. His paternal grandfather was Cuba Gooding Sr., the former lead singer of R&B band, The Main Ingredient, and his uncle is actor

Omar Gooding Omar Miles Gooding (born October 19, 1976), also known by his stage name Big O,Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Gooding attended Windward High School in California, where he played varsity football for four years. He graduated in 2015. During high school, his main interests were football and theater. He wanted to begin acting after graduation, but decided to attend college after visiting his father on set in New York. He enrolled in

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

to study dramatic writing and psychology. He dropped out during his junior year in order to pursue acting full time.

Career

In 2017, while still in college, Gooding found a manager and an agent and started booking roles. He booked his first major acting role in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's dramedy ''

'' alongside

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

. In 2018, Gooding gained his first major film role in ''Booksmart'', directed by

Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, , March 10, 1984) is an American actress and director. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' (2007–2012), and appeared ...

in her directorial debut. In 2019, Gooding was cast as Andrew in ''Love, Victor'', the television spinoff of the 2018 film ''

Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy drama film directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker, based on the 2015 novel '' Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The fi ...

''. Originally developed for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, the series premiered on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in 2020. While he had played football in high school, Gooding had to learn how to play basketball for the role. Gooding also appeared in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's Christmas themed romantic comedy ''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...

'' later that year. In 2020, he also began appearing in Freeform's sitcom, ''

Everything's Gonna Be Okay ''Everything's Gonna Be Okay'' is an American comedy television series created by Australian comedian Josh Thomas. ''Everything's Gonna Be Okay'' premiered on Freeform on January 16, 2020. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second seaso ...

''. In September 2020, Gooding was cast as Chad Meeks-Martin in the fifth ''Scream'' film, which was directed by

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (born February 19, 1978) is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence Productions, Rad ...

and

Tyler Gillett Tyler Gillett (born March 6, 1982) is an American film director, cinematographer, actor, writer, and producer. A co-creator of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, Gillett co-directed, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, the horror films '' Devil's ...

. Delayed by the

Covid 19 pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, the film was released on January 14, 2022. In late August 2021, Gooding co-starred alongside

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

and

Chloe Bailey Chloe Elizabeth Bailey ( ; born July 1, 1998), also known mononymously as Chlöe, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She rose to prominence alongside her sister Halle Bailey as Chloe x Halle. The duo released two stu ...

in the scripted podcast, ''

Electric Easy Electric Easy is a science fiction podcast and musical produced by QCode starring Kesha, Chloe Bailey, and Mason Gooding. Background The podcast was produced by QCode and created by Vanya Asher. The show was produced using Dolby Atmos. The po ...

'', a musical neo-noir science fiction show set in a futuristic Los Angeles. Humans struggle to co-exist with robots, known as “electrics”. The show was created by Vanya Asher; executive producer was Kesha. The podcast premiered on August 30, 2021. Gooding reprised his role of Chad Meeks-Martin in the film ''

'', released on March 10, 2023. He is set to reprise the role in ''

Scream 7 ''Scream 7'' is an upcoming American slasher film directed by Kevin Williamson and written by Guy Busick, from a story by James Vanderbilt and Busick. It is a sequel to '' Scream VI'' (2023) and the seventh installment in the ''Scream'' fil ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gooding, Mason 1996 births Living people 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male television actors American people of Barbadian descent American people of German descent Male actors from Los Angeles Tisch School of the Arts alumni Gooding family (show business)