Credit: Fox

Djimon Hounsou feels “cheated” by the movie industry

Fri 17 March 2023 18:33, UK

The star behind DC’s latest superhero movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods Djimon Hounsou has reflected on his early career, revealing that he felt “cheated” in regard to his lack of industry representation.

Starring in a number of music videos and TV shows throughout the end of the 1980s and 1990s, Hounsou’s career would change when he was cast in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film Amistad. “My life changed dramatically after that,” the actor told The Guardian, with the role opening him up to a number of other opportunities, including Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiator in 2000 and the Edward Zwick movie Blood Diamond in 2006.

Nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in the 2006 film, despite being the central character, his famous co-star Leonardo DiCaprio was instead awarded an Academy nod for ‘Best Leading Actor’.

“I felt seriously cheated,” Hounsou told the publication, adding: “Today, we talk so much about the Oscars being so white, but I remember there was a time where I had no support at all: no support from my own people, no support from the media, from the industry itself. It felt like: ‘You should be happy that you’ve got nominated,’ and that’s that”.

Offered very limited parts as a black actor, as the article points out, Hounsou played the role of a slave three times within a short space of time, appearing in Amistad, Gladiator and Shekhar Kapur’s 2002 movie The Four Feathers.

“I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he adds later in the interview, explaining: “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”.

Take a look at Djimon Hounsou in his most recent role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods below.