Djimon Hounsou hasn’t had a fairytale profession in Hollywood.
Regardless of being a two-time Oscar-nominated actor who has appeared in blockbuster movies, Hounsou, 60, lately revealed that he’s “still struggling to make a living” within the trade.
“I’ve been in the filmmaking business for over two decades with two Oscar nominations and many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially,” he stated on CNN’s “African Voices Changemakers.”
“I’m definitely underpaid,” he added.
Hounsou’s most well-known motion pictures embody “Amistad,” “Gladiator,” “In America,” “Blood Diamond,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain Marvel,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Shazam!,” “A Quiet Place Part II,” “A Quiet Place: Day One,” and each “Rebel Moon” movies.
His roles in “In America” and “Blood Diamond” earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Greatest Supporting Actor in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
Hounsou, who was born in West African and immigrated to the U.S. at age 23, stated he believes he was snubbed by the Oscars for his efficiency in Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad.”
“I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars because they thought that I had just come off the boat and the streets,” Hounsou recalled.
“Even though I successfully did that, they just didn’t feel like I was an actor to whom they should pay any respect,” he added.
Hounsou went on, “This conceptual idea of diversity still has a long way to go. Systemic racism don’t change like that anytime soon.”
The actor beforehand opened up about his struggles in Hollywood whereas chatting with The Guardian in March 2023.
“I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he expressed within the interview.
“I’ve come up in the business with some people who are absolutely well off and have very little of my accolades. So I feel cheated, tremendously cheated, in terms of finances and in terms of the workload as well,” Hounsou defined.
Hounsou additionally spoke out about how he needed to combat for the paycheck he felt he deserved and was constantly disrespected.
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” he shared. “They always come at me with a complete low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much’… Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
Hounsou’s upcoming movies embody “Beneath the Storm,” a survival thriller starring Phoebe Dynevor, “The Zealot,” a thriller based mostly on a 2016 play, and “The Monster,” a horror film directed by the “Saw” franchise’s Darren Lynn Bousman.
