Cuba Gooding Jr was advised to reject the chance to play OJ Simpson because it could damage his career.

The 50-year-old actor starred as the controversial former American football star - who was accused of murdering his ex-wife in 1994 - in 'The People v OJ Simpson', but Cuba has revealed he was warned he risked harming his career due to the racial tensions surrounding the so-called trial of the century.

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''I got so much flack from people in my personal circle to do such a dark role.

''In the black communities, some of the guys said to me: 'How's it going to feel having white people not like you any more?'''

But Cuba rubbished those suggestions, snapping back: ''It's a character. I'm playing a character!

''I knew then, if there was a fake beat about my ­performance, I would get killed.''

Cuba previously claimed he would reach out to OJ upon his release from prison after serving time for armed robbery.

But he's admitted that the suggested meeting has yet to take place.

He said: ''I've only seen certain clips and statements he's made. He's got his hands filled with his life now.''

Meanwhile, Cuba previously admitted that at the time of OJ's trial, he didn't really care about the outcome.

The actor confessed that he never became emotionally invested in the result of the trial, but he also revealed that his perception of the situation evolved during the making of 'The People v OJ Simpson'.

He shared: ''At the time, I did not care. Black people did not want to believe that Simpson did it.

''Doing this movie, I realised that it was not really about 'guilty' or 'not guilty', it was about making sure that the cops did not f**k with another black man.''