Djimon Hounsou Opens Up – Decades in Hollywood, Still Struggling to Make Ends Meet: “Systemic racism don’t change like that”

Djimon Hounsou is a Beninese-American actor born on April 24, 1964. He started his career in music videos before debuting in the film ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ (1990). He gained fame for his role as Cinqué in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Amistad’ (1997), earning a Golden Globe nomination. He was also nominated for Academy Awards for his roles in In ‘America’ (2002) and ‘Blood Diamond’ (2006).

Hounsou has appeared in major franchises, playing Korath in Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Captain Marvel,’ and the wizard Shazam in several DC movies, including ‘Shazam!’ and ‘Black Adam.’ Despite this impressive filmography, in his recent interview with CNN Hounsou revealed that he is still struggling financially.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” Djimon Hounsou shared. “I’ve been in this business making films now for over two decades with two Oscar nominations, been in many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid.”

Talking about his big break in 1997’s ‘Amistad,’ where he played the role of Cinqué, a leader of a slave rebellion, Hounsou said he believes he missed out on an Oscar nomination due to xenophobia and racism.

I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars, talking about the fact that they thought that I had just came off the boat and off the streets. Even though I successfully did that [film], they just didn’t feel like I was an actor to whom they should pay any respect. This conceptual idea of diversity still has a long way to go. Systemic racism doesn’t change like that anytime soon.

Djimon Hounsou has previously spoken about the challenges he faces in Hollywood, saying he has “yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”

He shared his frustrations about still struggling financially despite his accomplishments. “I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar! 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.”

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