HOLLYWOOD -- After Cuba Gooding Jr. won his Oscar for Jerry Maguire, he thought he'd done everything short of walking on water.

Miracle of miracles, last summer he did that, too.

In the romance What Dreams May Come, Gooding plays Robin Williams' angelic guide through the farthest reaches of heaven and hell.

The film opens in Calgary on Friday.

"After the special effects guys made it possible for me to walk on water, I begged them to give me a sea for me to part," says Gooding.

Instead, they found ways to make him fly and to make him appear naked. Gooding is adamant he was never actually naked in Dreams, though he certainly appears to be.

"I wasn't wearing much but it was discreet. In order to achieve the illusion that I was naked, I had to wear these orange Band-Aids on every joint on my body.

"That allowed the special-effects cameras to blur sections of my body."

He says it wasn't such a big deal until the night he had to film a night scene in a Baptist Church with its mock congregation.

"When I walked down the aisle, you just knew some of those extra refused to believe their eyes. It was a weirder feeling than when I really did have to strip naked for that (locker room) scene in Jerry Maguire."

Flying proved to be more traumatic.

"They put you in harnesses that confine you where you'd rather not be confined. The first time they hoist you up, you're convinced you'll be a soprano for the rest of your life.

"Robin and I could only be suspended for 10 minutes at a time, then it got too painful. They bring us down for a rest then hoist us back up. There were days I was grateful I'd already had my children."

Gooding married his high school sweetheart. It is an interracial marriage that has produced two sons, Spenser, 4, and Mason, 2.

"Sara and I fought and broke up so many times people were convinced we'd never get married, but after four years of battling and making up, we realized we were soul mates."

Though they still have the occasional disagreement, Gooding insists Sara and he "have never been disrespectful of each other. That would be the clue to get out of the relationship fast."

He admits that when he and Sara appear in public, they turn heads.

"I never made a conscious decision to marry a white woman. I dated my share of African-American women, but Sara is the woman I loved. Colour was never an issue.

"My mother, my sister and Sara are the three most important women in my life and the three I love the most. I'd like a daughter of my own some day, but we're not planning to make that dream a reality any time soon."

Gooding says during the filming of What Dreams, he and Williams would have long discussions about the meaning of existence.

"Considering I was having these discussion with Robin, they were pretty serious.

"I believe in heaven and hell. I see heaven as a place where we will have our own special reality. Mine will probably be a casino because so much of my life has been a gamble."

And yes, Gooding has spent quality time contemplating what his Oscar win has meant.

"It opened so many incredible doors for me. I have actually been able to turn down two or three big action movies that were offered to me."


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