Djimon Hounsou started his career in the 1990s and has been active in Hollywood for more than four decades. The Beninese-American actor and model has acted in several critical and commercial hits and has also received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
However, despite his achievements, Hounsou feels “tremendously cheated” by Hollywood because of his financial condition and workload. So let’s find out in detail what the ‘Blood Diamond‘ actor said about the pay problem and other issues he has been facing in the industry.
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Djimon Hounsou Talks About Hollywood Pay Gap
Djimon Hounsou started out his career with the 1990 film ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ and later earned fame for his role in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Amistad.’ Since then, he has acted in various films and has earned two Oscar nominations.
In an interview with The Guardian, the 58-year-old actor said he feels “tremendously cheated” because of the Hollywood pay problem. “I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he said.
He added, “I’ve come up in the business with some people who are absolutely well off and have very little of my accolades. So I feel cheated, tremendously cheated, in terms of finances and in terms of the workload as well.”
The actor said that the studios tell him they thought he left Hollywood and was not “here as a true actor.” He also said that despite having a role as long as Leonardo DiCaprio’s in ‘Blood Diamond‘, he received an Oscar nomination for supporting actor. While Leo got nominated for Best Actor.
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Hounsou Praises DC
In the same interview, Hounsou talked about his good experience working in the DC Extended Universe. He plays the role of Wizard in the superhero flick ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods.’
His supporting role has been expanded in the sequel. “Out of them all, the DC universe has a level of respect,” he said. “There wasn’t much to the role at first, and I did it and it was fun. But the second time around it was a little more respectful.”
“From time to time, [Hollywood] themselves make the point of saying: ‘We should give him more, he’s a little under-appreciated.’ I think they recognize that themselves,” Hounsou said in conclusion.
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