Djimon Hounsou he has dozens of award-winning films and two Oscar nominations under his belt, but the actor says he still struggles financially and is “definitely underpaid.”
In a new interview with CNN released on Friday, January 10, the 60-year-old Beninese-born actor said he does not feel he is fairly rewarded for his work and continues to face systemic racism in the industry.
“I’m still struggling trying to make a living,” Hounsou, who earned Oscar nominations for In America (2002) and Blood diamond (2006), told Larry Madowo. “I’ve been in this business making movies for over two decades with two Oscar nominations, I’ve starred in many hit movies and yet I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid.”
Hounsou, whose most famous performances include Ridley Scott‘with Gladiator (2000), Steven Spielberg‘with Amistad (1997) and Quiet place franchise, he went on to discuss racism in Hollywood.
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“I was nominated for a Golden Globe (for Amistad) but they ignored me for the Oscar, saying they thought I just got off the boat and off the street,” Hounsou said in CNN interview. “Even though I did it (the film) successfully, they just didn’t feel like an actor they should respect. This conceptual idea of diversity still has a long way to go. Systemic racism is not going to change like that anytime soon.”
Hounsou — who has a 15-year-old son, Kenzo, with his ex Kimora Lee Simmons and two-year-old son Fela with his partner Rice – has been open about his career struggles in previous interviews. At the meeting in 2023. s The GuardianHounsou said he “felt seriously cheated” after his Blood diamond costar Leonardo DiCaprio received a Best Actor nod while remaining in the Supporting Actor category despite the film focusing on his character’s journey.
“Today we talk so much about the Oscars being so white, but I remember there was a time when I had no support: no support from my people, no support from the media, no support from the industry itself. It felt like, ‘You should be happy to be nominated,’ and that’s it.”
Djimon Hounsou
Clay Enos/NetflixHe continued: “Still struggling to try and make a dollar! I have gone into business with some people who are absolutely well off and have very little praise from me. So I feel cheated, terribly cheated, in terms of finances and in terms of workload.”
“I still have to prove why I need to be paid,” he added later in the interview. “They always come to me with a complete low ball of, ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much.'”
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In 2025, he should be acting Under the storm by the side Phoebe Dynevor and Zealot with Cody Smith-McPhee after appearing in several DC and Marvel films. However, Hounsou insisted on it The Guardian that the studies assumed that he “returned” to Africa after that Amistad and he was not a “real actor”.
“When you hear things like that, you can see that some vision of you or what you represent is very limiting,” he said. “But it is what it is. It’s up to me to redeem it.”