Djimon Hounsou’s filmography includes the sequels “Blood Diamond,” “Gladiator,” and “Shazam!”
Djimon Hounsou, star of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” has said that he doesn’t enjoy living the Hollywood lifestyle.
After more than 30 years in the business, Hounsou admitted he was underpaid in Hollywood and had financial difficulties.
“I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he said during an interview with The Guardian.
I worked my way to the top alongside some extremely wealthy individuals who, comparatively, had little accomplishments to brag about. As a result, I feel incredibly robbed in both financial and time terms.
Hounsou made public his experience of being underpaid and humiliated on the job.
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” he said to the reporters. I’m always getting a complete lowball offer: “We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much” It’s a challenge, movie after movie. There hasn’t been a film yet that compensated me fairly.
The 58-year-old actor said he never gets any applause for his roles. In addition to discussing his frustration with the paucity of opportunities for Black performers, he revealed that he had played a slave three times in a space of five years.
I was terribly deceived,” Hounsou said.
“Today, we speak a lot about how white the Oscars are, but I recall a period when I had no support at all: no support from my own people, no support from the media, and no support from the business itself. The tone was, “Congratulate yourself on being nominated; that’s all there is to it.”
The role of a defiant slave in Steve Spielberg’s “Amistad” catapulted Djimon Hounsou to prominence. Hounsou, however, said that Hollywood ignored him since Anthony Hopkins, with whom he co-starred, was nominated instead.
Although Hounsou was nominated for his roles in “In America” and “Blood Diamond,” he felt it was unfair that Leonardo DiCaprio was also nominated for best actor because Hounsou’s character is the focus of the film.
Hounsou has starred in a broad variety of action films throughout the course of his career, including “Gladiator,” “Furious 7,” “Tomb Raider,” “Aquaman,” and many more.
The “Shazam!” sequel is a project in which he takes particular pleasure.
The DC world, he said, was the most revered of them all. “At start, there wasn’t much to the position… The activity was enjoyable, so I engaged in it. This time, though, it was handled with more deference.
He thinks Hollywood is now giving him a shot, and he’s hoping it means more prominent roles in major films.
They will occasionally comment, “We should give him more; he’s a little underappreciated.” He went on to say, “I think they recognize that themselves.” That’s the challenge I’ve set for myself, man!