Books That Made a Difference to Cuba Gooding Jr.

A teleplay before it became a hit 1957 movie starring Henry Fonda, this story appealed to Gooding because of its themes of justice, prejudice, and the importance of not following the crowd. "I was hoping to make a film that addressed many of the same issues," Gooding says, and while he never ended up doing that movie, Rose's work still resonates with him. "I'm interested in what happens when a person does something he believes is right—standing up to his fellow jurors to acquit a young man—and nobody else understands what the hell he's doing. The story spoke to me so purely."