Djimon Hounsou Says He’s ‘Still Struggling To Make A Dollar’ In Hollywood
etcanada.comDjimon Hounsou is getting very candid about how Hollywood has treated him. In an interview with The Guardian, the “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” actor shared his feelings of being overlooked and underpaid throughout his career. READ MORE: Adam Brody Jokes About Date Night With Leighton Meester At ‘Shazam 2’ Premiere After beginning his career as a model, the Benin-born actor found his first taste of success in Hollywood by landing a major role in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated 1997 epic “Amistad”.
Despite his co-star Anthony Hopkins getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Hounsou was left out of the running at the awards show. “Yeah.
Maybe I was early,” he said, looking back on that experience. “If my movies had come out today I definitely would have gotten an Oscar already.” He would eventually find himself nominated for two Oscars, for Best Supporting Actor in 2002’s “In America”, and again in the same category for 2006’s “Blood Diamond”.
In the case of the latter film, though, it was Leonardo DiCaprio who earned a Best Actor nomination, despite the film focusing on Hounsou’s character’s storyline. “I felt seriously cheated,” the actor confessed. “Today, we talk so much about the Oscars being so white, but I remember there was a time where I had no support at all: no support from my own people, no support from the media, from the industry itself.
Read more on etcanada.com