Djimon Hounsou Says He Struggles To ‘Make A Living’ Despite Oscar Nods

Two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou revealed he still struggles to “make a living” in Hollywood despite receiving critical acclaim and awards attention for films big and small.

In a recent interview on CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, the Beninese-born actor — whose most-known performances include Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, Blood Diamond opposite Jennifer Connelly and Leonardo DiCaprio and In America (the latter two which nabbed him the Academy Award nods) — said he is often lowballed when it comes to financial compensation for his work.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” he said. “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.” 

Reflecting on his breakthrough in 1997’s Amistad, in which he played slave rebellion leader Cinqué, Hounsou alleged he was passed over for an Oscar nom because of 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,” he claimed. “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 don’t change like that anytime soon.”

Hounsou, whose recent credits include A Quiet Place: Day One, Gran Turismo and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, has previously talked about the roadblocks he faces. Speaking to The Guardian in 2023, he said he has “yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”

“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. I’ve gone to studios for meetings and they’re like: ‘Wow, we felt like you just got off the boat and then went back [after Amistad]. We didn’t know you were here as a true actor.’ When you hear things like that, you can see that some people’s vision of you, or what you represent, is very limiting. But it is what it is. It’s up to me to redeem that.”

Forthcoming for Honsou are a series of thrillers: horror film The Monster from Saw franchise’s Darren Lynn Bousman, a shark movie opposite Phoebe Dynevor called Beneath the Storm and claustrophobic thriller The Zealot with Kodi Smit-McPhee.