“Friendship.” “Blood diamond.” “In America.” All major feature films starring Djimon Hounsou that have earned him widespread award recognition and critical acclaim. However, in a recent interview, the actor revealed that he still has trouble coming together as a working artist.
Hounsou recently sat down with CNN Africa, opening up about his experience in Hollywood as well as how the industry still has a long way to go when it comes to systemic racism. “I'm still struggling to make a living,” he said in the clip. “I've been in the filmmaking business for over two decades with two Oscar nominations and many blockbusters, yet I'm still struggling financially. I am definitely underpaid. “
Picture: Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
Speaking about his earlier career in Hollywood, he revealed that he felt “overlooked” for the Oscars when he was nominated for a Golden Globe in his breakout role in “Amistad” . He explained, “I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars because they thought I had just come off the boat and the streets… even though I did successfully, they didn't feel like I was an actor they should respect.”
He said he believes the “conceptual notion of diversity still has a long way to go”, explaining, “Systemic racism like that isn't going to change anytime soon.”
Like us reportedthis is not the first time the actor has spoken about his struggles in the entertainment field. He said just last September in an interview, “I've come into the business with some people who are well off and have very few of my accolades, so yes I feel cheated, very cheated, financially and financially. the workload as well.”
This announcement is certainly a surprise, as the actor has appeared, as we said earlier, in some of the biggest and most famous films over the past 30 years. He has also appeared in several Marvel films such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Captain Marvel”, two films in the franchise “A Quiet Place”, “Shazam,” “Aquaman”, … . The man was even in Janet's iconic “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” music video back in 1990!
You'd think an actor with two Oscar nominations, one for “In America” and one for “Blood Diamond,” multiple NAACP Image Awards, multiple SAG Award nominations, and more wouldn't struggle to make a living in Hollywood, and still here Hounsou, vulnerably talks about the lack of opportunities in that industry to this day for black actors. As far as we're concerned, Hounsou is an A-lister and shouldn't be struggling so hard with a resume like that.
This story appeared first on The Root, our sister site, on January 11.
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