“I’m definitely underpaid”: Djimon Hounsou on racism in Hollywood

He was nominated for two Oscars and was a well-recognized supporting actor in Hollywood for many years. Nevertheless, actor Djimon Hounsou (60) explains: “I’m still struggling to make a living.” The reason he gives is: “I’m definitely underpaid.” The skin color of the mime, who originally comes from Benin in West Africa, would also play a role here.

In fact, many film fans will probably recognize Hounsou. He is known for appearances in works such as “Gladiator”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Shazam!” or most recently the Netflix two-parter “Rebel Moon”. Among other things, he received an Oscar nomination for “Blood Diamond”, in which he played alongside Leonardo DiCaprio (50).

“I’ve been in the film business for over two decades, have had two Oscar nominations and made many blockbuster films, and yet I still have financial problems,” Hounsou said. The concept of diversity “still has a long way to go,” he says, looking back on his decades in the film business. And: “Systemic racism will not change any time soon.”

Hounsou had openly addressed the unequal pay in Hollywood in the past. “They always come to me with a completely low sum,” he revealed in 2023. He always has to prove why he is entitled to payment. He has “never met a film that paid me fairly.”

From his many decades in the US film industry – Hounsou has been employed regularly since the 1990s – he knows many colleagues and contemporaries who have received far fewer awards than he and “who are doing absolutely well.” When it comes to his personal finances, he feels “cheated, enormously cheated.”