Disgraced gridiron great O.J. Simpson has slammed producers for choosing Cuba Gooding, Jr. to play him on TV! “The Juice,” speaking out from behind bars, thought producers were kidding when they tapped the 47-year-old “Jerry Maguire” actor to star in “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
“O.J. was left with his mouth open when they picked Cuba. He thought it was a joke at first,” O.J.’s pal and longtime associate Norman Pardo told The National ENQUIRER.
“He said, ‘Why would they choose somebody like that to play me?’” The 10-episode FX miniseries will feature a gallery of stars recreating the sensational 1995 murder trial of the Heisman Trophy winner. John Travolta, who is also a producer, will play O.J.’s “dream team” attorney Robert Shapiro, while “Friends” star David Schwimmer will portray the late Robert Kardashian.
“American Horror Story” mainstay Sarah Paulson will co-star as L.A. County prosecutor Marcia Clark.
The miniseries will begin production this spring while O.J. sits in a Nevada state prison serving nine to 33 years for an armed robbery and kidnapping in 2007 in Las Vegas. O.J. had hoped his buddy Denzel Washington would land the leading role because he believes the two-time Oscar winner has the “charisma” that Cuba lacks, Norman told The ENQUIRER.
“O.J. and Denzel knew each other, and he loves Denzel as an actor. He’d have made a good O.J.,” Norman added.
Besides that, “The Equalizer” star “was never mean to O.J. after the trial,” when he was found not guilty in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole, and her friend, waiter Ronald Goldman, said Norman.
Both Denzel and O.J. are 6-foot-1, and weigh slightly over 200 pounds. Cuba comes in at a comparatively scrawny 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds.
“Denzel and Cuba are two totally different people, with two totally different personalities and totally different sizes,” quipped Norman, who’s also developing a miniseries about the ex-footballer. “[Cuba] makes for a good comedian, but not a serious-looking football player. He’s just too small for the job.”
