Djimon Hounsou has dozens of award-winning movies and two Oscar nominations underneath his belt, however the actor says he nonetheless struggles financially and is “positively underpaid.”
In a brand new interview with CNN printed on Friday, January 10, the Beninese-born actor, 60, stated he doesn’t really feel he has been compensated pretty for his work and nonetheless faces systemic racism within the business.
“I’m nonetheless struggling attempting to make a residing,” Hounsou, who earned Oscar nominations for In America (2002) and Blood Diamond (2006), instructed Larry Madowo. “I’ve been on this enterprise making movies now for over 20 years with two Oscar nominations, been in lots of blockbuster movies, and but, I’m nonetheless struggling financially. I’m positively underpaid.”
Hounsou, whose best-known performances embody Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997)and The Quiet Place franchise, went on to debate racism in Hollywood.
And the Oscar goes to … mess. Because the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences held its first awards present in 1929, the ceremony has confronted loads of scandals and criticism. Only one decade into the occasion’s historical past, the Academy encounter what would develop into one of many greatest controversies in Oscars historical past. In 1940, […]
“I used to be nominated for the Golden Globe [for Amistad], however they ignored me for the Oscars, speaking about the truth that they thought that I had simply got here off the boat and off the streets,” Hounsou said within the CNN interview. “Although I efficiently did that [film], they only didn’t really feel like I used to be an actor for whom they need to pay any respect. This conceptual thought of range nonetheless has an extended technique to go. Systemic racism don’t change like that anytime quickly.”
Hounsou — who shares 15-year-old son Kenzo with ex Kimora Lee Simmons and 2-year-old son Fela with companion Ri’Za — has been open about his profession struggles in earlier interviews. In a 2023 sit-down with The Guardian, Hounsou stated he “felt significantly cheated” after his Blood Diamond costar Leonardo DiCaprio obtained the perfect actor nod whereas he was left within the supporting actor class regardless of the film specializing in his character’s journey.
“At this time, we speak a lot concerning the Oscars being so white, however I keep in mind there was a time the place I had no help in any respect: no help from my very own individuals, no help from the media, from the business itself. It felt like: ‘You need to be comfortable that you just’ve obtained nominated,’ and that’s that.”
Djimon Hounsou Clay Enos/Netflix
He continued: “I’m nonetheless struggling to attempt to make a greenback! I’ve come up within the enterprise with some people who find themselves completely effectively off and have little or no of my accolades. So I really feel cheated, tremendously cheated, when it comes to funds and when it comes to the workload as effectively.”
“I nonetheless need to show why I must receives a commission,” he added later within the interview. “They at all times come at me with an entire low ball: ‘We solely have this a lot for the position, however we love you a lot and we actually suppose you may convey a lot.’”
When Oscars season rolls round, many stars are wishing to see their title on the nominations checklist — nevertheless it at all times doesn’t pan out. Even earlier than her Barbie snub, Margot Robbie was ignored for her earlier initiatives. Robbie had her breakout position in Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Road in 2013, which she starred […]
In 2025, he’s set to star in Beneath the Storm alongside Phoebe Dynevor and The Zealot with Kodi Smit-McPhee after making appearances in a couple of DC and Marvel movies. Nonetheless, Hounsou insisted to The Guardian that studios assumed he “went again” to Africa after Amistad and wasn’t “a real actor.”
“Once you hear issues like that, you may see that some individuals’s imaginative and prescient of you, or what you characterize, may be very limiting,” he stated. “However it’s what it’s. It’s as much as me to redeem that.”
Djimon Hounsou has dozens of award-winning movies and two Oscar nominations underneath his belt, however the actor says he nonetheless struggles financially and is “positively underpaid.”
In a brand new interview with CNN printed on Friday, January 10, the Beninese-born actor, 60, stated he doesn’t really feel he has been compensated pretty for his work and nonetheless faces systemic racism within the business.
“I’m nonetheless struggling attempting to make a residing,” Hounsou, who earned Oscar nominations for In America (2002) and Blood Diamond (2006), instructed Larry Madowo. “I’ve been on this enterprise making movies now for over 20 years with two Oscar nominations, been in lots of blockbuster movies, and but, I’m nonetheless struggling financially. I’m positively underpaid.”
Hounsou, whose best-known performances embody Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997)and The Quiet Place franchise, went on to debate racism in Hollywood.
And the Oscar goes to … mess. Because the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences held its first awards present in 1929, the ceremony has confronted loads of scandals and criticism. Only one decade into the occasion’s historical past, the Academy encounter what would develop into one of many greatest controversies in Oscars historical past. In 1940, […]
“I used to be nominated for the Golden Globe [for Amistad], however they ignored me for the Oscars, speaking about the truth that they thought that I had simply got here off the boat and off the streets,” Hounsou said within the CNN interview. “Although I efficiently did that [film], they only didn’t really feel like I used to be an actor for whom they need to pay any respect. This conceptual thought of range nonetheless has an extended technique to go. Systemic racism don’t change like that anytime quickly.”
Hounsou — who shares 15-year-old son Kenzo with ex Kimora Lee Simmons and 2-year-old son Fela with companion Ri’Za — has been open about his profession struggles in earlier interviews. In a 2023 sit-down with The Guardian, Hounsou stated he “felt significantly cheated” after his Blood Diamond costar Leonardo DiCaprio obtained the perfect actor nod whereas he was left within the supporting actor class regardless of the film specializing in his character’s journey.
“At this time, we speak a lot concerning the Oscars being so white, however I keep in mind there was a time the place I had no help in any respect: no help from my very own individuals, no help from the media, from the business itself. It felt like: ‘You need to be comfortable that you just’ve obtained nominated,’ and that’s that.”
Djimon Hounsou Clay Enos/Netflix
He continued: “I’m nonetheless struggling to attempt to make a greenback! I’ve come up within the enterprise with some people who find themselves completely effectively off and have little or no of my accolades. So I really feel cheated, tremendously cheated, when it comes to funds and when it comes to the workload as effectively.”
“I nonetheless need to show why I must receives a commission,” he added later within the interview. “They at all times come at me with an entire low ball: ‘We solely have this a lot for the position, however we love you a lot and we actually suppose you may convey a lot.’”
When Oscars season rolls round, many stars are wishing to see their title on the nominations checklist — nevertheless it at all times doesn’t pan out. Even earlier than her Barbie snub, Margot Robbie was ignored for her earlier initiatives. Robbie had her breakout position in Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Road in 2013, which she starred […]
In 2025, he’s set to star in Beneath the Storm alongside Phoebe Dynevor and The Zealot with Kodi Smit-McPhee after making appearances in a couple of DC and Marvel movies. Nonetheless, Hounsou insisted to The Guardian that studios assumed he “went again” to Africa after Amistad and wasn’t “a real actor.”
“Once you hear issues like that, you may see that some individuals’s imaginative and prescient of you, or what you characterize, may be very limiting,” he stated. “However it’s what it’s. It’s as much as me to redeem that.”
