If you watch big movies, you’ve seen a few of Djimon Hounsou's performances. The actor has impressively been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and held multiple roles in the DCEU. He's even starred in one of the best movies of the 2000s, Gladiator, along with the Fast and Furious, Kingsman and Quiet Place franchises. And yet, as the actor recently revealed while discussing diversity and equity, he’s still “struggling” to make a living in Hollywood.
Hounsou is an incredible actor, who has even earned two Oscar nominations over the years for his supporting roles in In America and Blood Diamond, alongside a Golden Globe nom for Steven Spielberg’s 1997 historical drama, Amistad. In the last few years, he was notably part of the Gran Turismo cast and The King’s Man cast, along with Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon movies. Nevertheless, here’s what the journeyman actor recently told CNN:
I’m still struggling trying to make a living. … I’ve been in this business and making films now over two decades and still, with two Oscar nominations, many big blockbuster films, I’m still struggling financially.
While the star's lengthy resume spans nearly 30 years, he still feels as though he’s “definitely underpaid”. Djimon Hounsou was born in the Republic of Benin in Africa and immigrated to France with his brother when he was 12. While there, he began a career in modeling (as many other actors got their start that way) in the late '80s before moving to the United States and starting his acting career. He garnered acclaim for his role in the aforementioned Steven Spielberg movie, but he also recalled a negative aspect of that:
I was nominated for a Golden Globe [for Amistad], but they ignored me for the Oscars, talking about the fact that they thought I had just come off the boat and off the streets, even though I successfully did that. They just didn’t feel like I was an actor for whom we should pay any respect to. So this conceptual idea of diversity, it still has a long way to go. Systemic racism [doesn’t] change like that anytime soon.
The thespian’s words certainly highlight a continued inequality in Hollywood regarding minority communities and, sadly, there's still need for improvement on that front. Given his personal experiences and observations, the Academy Award nominee started his own nonprofit in 2019 called the Djimon Hounsou Foundation. The organization aims to strengthen Africa’s intergenerational identity along with combating modern-day slavery and human trafficking. It also hosts Africa Reconnect Running & Music Concert Series in African countries, Europe and the Americas.
During his recent chat, the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword alum's interviewer expressed disbelief that even today, he still has trouble making ends meet, given his body of work. That prompted to the 60-year-old actor to share the following sentiment:
That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly. You have to cope with it and survive the best way you can.
While Djimon Hounsou has been in a lot of big movies, it sounds as though he unfortunately still hasn't had as many opportunities to play more more prominent roles and be compensated accordingly. His credits are extensive, and the films he's starred in are massive. With that, the actor definitely deserves to be paid the same as his colleagues
Hounsou does have a number of movies on the way such as a few upcoming horror movies called The Monster, The Zealot and Beneath the Storm (two of which he leads) and an action movie called The Bleeding Ground. Between Hounsou being honest on the topic of pay and creating change himself through his nonprofit, hopefully this doesn't continue to be a reality for him. The same goes for other actors of color and those belonging to groups that have historically been marginalized.
