Want to be an actor? Well, it turns out that not even being nominated for an Academy Award, twice, means you will be making a bunch of money. At least that’s what Djimon Hounsou has claimed.
Hounsou, who was nominated for an Oscar for his roles in the movies In America and Blood Diamond, shared this revelation with CNN’s Larry Madowo in a recent interview.
“I’m still struggling, trying to make a living after 30 years in this business, after all, I speak well, 30 years, let’s say, like maybe the first ten years was really trying to, you know, sort of acclimate myself to the to the industry and establish myself,” Djimon Hounsou told Madowo.
“I’ve been in this business and making films now over two decades. And still — with two Oscar nominations, been in many big blockbuster films — and yet I’m still struggling financially to make a living. I’m definitely underpaid.”
That might sound shocking considering Hounsou has acted in films like A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place: Day One, Rebel Moon: Parts One and Two, Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The King’s Man, Captain Marvel, Furious 7, Guardians of the Galaxy, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Gladiator.
Larry Madowo, for one, was certainly shocked, calling it “mind-boggling” and telling Djimon Hounsou that he was one of the first big Black actors he saw in big-budget films.
“Well, that’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly. You have to cope with it and survive the best way you can,” Hounsou replied. “It’s so deep inserted in so many things that we do across the board and you don’t overcome it.”
Hounsou, who had a key role in the original Gladiator film alongside Russell Crowe, revealed to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast in Dec. 2023 that he was not going to be in the sequel. He didn’t get into specifics of why he wasn’t going to be in the film, but that surely would have been a nice payday had it happened.
The 60-year-old actor also told Madawo, “When I came out with Amistad, I was nominated for a 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 where Steven Spielberg used me for this film.
“Even though I successfully did that, they just didn’t feel I was an actor for whom we should pay any respect to. So this conceptual idea of diversity and all that – it still has a long way to go. Systemic racism like that don’t change anytime soon.”
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Two-Time Oscar-Nominated Actor Claims He Is ‘Still Struggling Financially’
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