Why Djimon Hounsou ‘feels cheated’ by Hollywood and is yet to be paid ‘fairly’ for a film

There isn’t a doubt Djimon Hounsou is a seasoned actor in Hollywood, having starred in a number of notable films together with Amistad, In America, Gladiator, and Blood Diamond. However the Beninese actor and mannequin’s rise to superstardom didn’t come simple. However, the 58-year-old defied the struggles he encountered whereas rising up in his native nation, Benin, and pursued his ardour. 

Born to a modest household within the West African nation’s capital metropolis of Cotonou, Hounsou adopted the myriads of Africans leaving the continent for greener pastures in Europe and America. He traveled to Lyon, France, on the age of 13 to reside together with his brother and additional his training. Nonetheless, he dropped out of faculty and have become homeless after falling out together with his brother. 

He subsequently moved to Paris, sleeping on the streets and feeding on leftovers from rubbish bins. Happily, his fortune turned after he was noticed by a style photographer, who launched him to the long-lasting French designer, Thierry Mugler. Following a profitable modeling profession in France, Hounsou moved to the USA to pursue a profession in appearing.

Although the 58-year-old has since made a reputation for himself in Hollywood, he advised The Guardian in a current interview that he feels undervalued. He additionally prompt he would have received awards if the flicks he featured in had been launched immediately. 

Hounsou’s breakout efficiency in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 Amistad film was extremely counseled, however he didn’t obtain any nominations from the Academy on the time. Nonetheless, his co-star, Anthony Hopkins, earned a nomination for best-supporting actor. Responding to if being ignored was irritating, the 58-year-old stated, “Yeah. Possibly I used to be early. If my films had come out immediately I positively would have gotten an Oscar already.”

Hounsou finally earned nominations in the course of the course of his profession, however he highlighted how he felt cheated after he obtained the most effective supporting actor nomination for Blood Diamond (2006). Although the movie’s plot centered on Hounsou’s character, it was co-star Leonardo DiCaprio who was as an alternative nominated for finest actor. 

“I felt severely cheated,” he stated. “At the moment, we discuss a lot concerning the Oscars being so white, however I bear in mind there was a time after I had no help in any respect: no help from my very own folks, no help from the media, from the business itself. It felt like: ‘You have to be blissful that you simply’ve acquired nominated,’ and that’s that.”

Hounsou additionally advised The Guardian that Black actors being supplied minor roles in films was a irritating factor on the time. “I’m nonetheless struggling to attempt to make a greenback!” he stated when he was requested if he feels that’s nonetheless occurring. 

“I’ve come up within the enterprise with some people who find themselves completely properly off and have little or no of my accolades. So I really feel cheated, tremendously cheated, by way of funds and by way of the workload as properly.”

Hounsou additionally defined that he takes minor roles as a result of he needs to indicate that he’s a “man of immediately” and “to show that I can converse the language. I’ll not converse completely like an American with an American accent, however I don’t have to be all-American.”

He additionally added, “I’ve gone to studios for conferences they usually’re like: ‘Wow, we felt such as you simply acquired off the boat after which went again [after Amistad]. We didn’t know you had been right here as a real actor.’ While you hear issues like that, you possibly can see that some folks’s imaginative and prescient of you, or what you symbolize, may be very limiting. However it’s what it’s. It’s as much as me to redeem that.”

“I nonetheless need to show why I must receives a commission,” he stated. “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 assume you possibly can convey a lot.’”

“Viola Davis stated it superbly: she’s received an Oscar, she’s received an Emmy, she’s received a Tony and she or he nonetheless can’t receives a commission. Movie after movie, it’s a wrestle. I’ve but to fulfill the movie that paid me pretty.”

However the actor stated Hollywood has now began treating him pretty. “On occasion, they themselves make the purpose of claiming: ‘We must always give him extra, he’s slightly underappreciated.’ I believe they acknowledge that themselves,” he stated, earlier than including: “Hey, it’s the wrestle I’ve to beat!”