Two-time Oscar nominee reveals he’s now ‘struggling to make a living’

The actor’s second Academy Award nomination came for Blood Diamond, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio (Picture: Warner Bros)

A Hollywood actor, who has been nominated for two Oscars, has said he is ‘struggling financially.’

Djimon Hounsou, 60, began his acting career in the early 90s before going on to star in blockbusters including Gladiator and Guardians of the Galaxy.

He also got the Academy Award for best supporting actor nod twice for his performances in In America and Blood Diamond, which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

However, Djimon said he was ‘underpaid’ and ‘struggling financially’ as he discussed systemic racism in the entertainment industry and more broadly in the US.

‘I’m still struggling to make a living,’ he told CNN’s African Voices Changemakers.

‘I’ve been in the filmmaking business for over two decades with two Oscar nominations and many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially.

He said he is ‘struggling financially’ since his breakthrough role in In America (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

‘I’m definitely underpaid.’

Born in Benin, West Africa, Djimon was sent to France as a boy and first started his career as a model and dancer in music videos for artists like Tina Turner and Janet Jackson after moving to LA while barely speaking any English.

After a few bit parts in the 1990s, including in Stargate with James Spader and Kurt Russell, he got his big break in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad as Cinque in 1997, about the 1839 revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish-owned ship off the coast of Long Island.

Djimon’s other film credits include Furious 7, the A Quiet Place franchise, The Legend of Tarzan, Gran Turismo and How To Train Your Dragon 2.

Djimon said he was ‘underpaid’ in Hollywood (Picture: Jaap Buitendijk/Dreamworks/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Djimon has been working in Hollywood since the 90s (Picture: AP)

He’s also carved out a niche in blockbuster comic book adaptations, having also appeared as Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel as well as the Wizard in both Shazam! movies.

Djimon previously spoke to Metro at the London premiere for Shazam! Fury of the Gods and pondered over what he would have said to his younger self at the start of his career.

‘Wow, it’s been 25 years? Listen, I wish I could say I did it all by myself but there’s a team and there’s also a huge need to believe in yourself and in what you’re doing, because again, time and time again – and especially when you start – you hear so many times no. “No, no, thank you, thank you but no,”’ he admitted.

‘So, you really have to stay strong, and I think films can [help you] aspire to really live out your dreams. Like [in] Shazam, your immediate family is not [necessarily] your blood family, you know, and it’s what you make of your friends that you meet when you embark on this life experience.’

Djimon has also carved a niche in Marvel films including Guardians of the Galaxy (Picture: Marvel Studio)

The star also singled out some of his most prestigious parts, and both his Oscar-nominated performances, as the roles which have been among the greatest challenges of his career. 

Well, Amistad was a challenge, my first one with Steven Spielberg was definitely a challenge. I had the luxury of working with Jim Sheridan and for what that was, it was also quite a challenge – I remember that was not a happy moment to film that.’

Djimon played a reclusive artist and photographer dying of AIDs in the film, which charted the difficult lives of a family of Irish immigrants living in a rundown Hell’s Kitchen tenement.

‘Blood Diamond was also a great challenge because it dealt with social issues that we’re still dealing with in the present day. And so, hopefully you have Shazam! Fury of the Gods, pictures like that, that redeem a little bit of the hardship that you go through at times,’ he added.

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