Djimon Hounsou says he's still 'struggling trying to make a living' despite blockbuster roles, Oscar nominations
Beninese-born American actor Djimon Hounsou said he's still "struggling trying to make a living" despite starring in several blockbusters and having two Oscar nominations.
In an interview with CNN, Hounsou pointed out the "systemic racism" in the film industry, which he's been a part of for over two decades.
“After 30 years…maybe the first 10 years was trying to acclimate myself to the industry, to establish myself," he said. "Yet I’m still struggling financially to make a living. I’m definitely underpaid.”
“That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly,” he added. “It’s so deeply inserted in so many things we do across the board."
Hounsou said one doesn't overcome it but rather "just sort of have to cope with it and survive the best way you can.”
Hounsou opened up about his struggles in the industry in 2023. He told The Guardian that felt "tremendously cheated" in pay and workload.
At the time, he also lamented the limited roles for Black actors, having portrayed a slave thrice (in Amistad, Gladiator, and The Four Feathers).
“I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he said. “I’ve come up in the business with some people who are absolutely well off and have very little of my accolades."
“I’ve gone to studios for meetings and they’re like: ‘Wow, we felt like you just got off the boat and then went back [after Amistad]. We didn’t know you were here as a true actor,'" Hounsou added. "When you hear things like that, you can see that some people’s vision of you, or what you represent, is very limiting. But it is what it is. It’s up to me to redeem that.”
He told The Guardian that despite his achievements, he still has to "prove why I need to get paid."
“They always come at me with a complete low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much’… Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly," he recalled.
Hounsou made his film debut in the 1990 musical comedy Without You I'm Nothing.
He received widespread recognition in the 1997 historical drama Amistad, getting a Golden Globe nomination.
He earned two Oscar nominations for his roles in In America (2002) and Blood Diamond (2008).
Hounsou appeared in movies like Stargate, Gladiator, Constantine, Furious 7, and Gran Turismo, as well as in franchises like A Quiet Place, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe, and Rebel Moon.
He made his directorial debut in the 2018 documentary In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven.
