Two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou is opening up about the realities of being a working actor and why all that glitters isn’t gold.
Djimon is widely known for starring in box-office hits like Gladiator, Blood Diamond, Amistad, as well as several Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC films. Most recently, he appeared alongside Lupita Nyong’o in the apocalyptic horror drama A Quiet Place: Day One.
But despite the laundry list of movies under his belt since he kicked off his Hollywood career over 30 years ago and multi-award nominations, the Benin native revealed that he’s “struggling financially” on a recent episode of CNN’s African Voices Changemakers.
“I’m still struggling to make a living,” Djimon said. “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. I’m definitely underpaid.”
“I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars because they thought that I had just come off the boat and the streets,” he claimed. “Even though I successfully did that, they just didn’t feel like I was an actor to whom they should pay any respect.”
He went on to share his perspective on Hollywood diversity and the progress he believes still needs to be made in the entertainment industry.
“This conceptual idea of diversity still has a long way to go. Systemic racism won’t change like that anytime soon.”
But this isn’t the first time Djimon has spoken out about unfair wages. In a 2023 interview with the Guardian, he revealed that he has “yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” he continued. “They always come at me with a complete low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much.’ “
You can watch Djimon’s full CNN interview here.