Djimon Hounsou has spoken out about his treatment in Hollywood, and how he is “yet to be paid fairly.”
In an interview with The Guardian, the two-time Oscar nominee shared that during his time in Hollywood he felt like he had no “support.”
“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,” he shared. “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.”
In 2003, the actor was nominated for an Academy Award for the film In America, and again for Blood Diamond in 2006.
“I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!” he revealed. “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.”
He continued: “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.”
He added: “I still have to prove why I need to get paid. 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.’
“Viola Davis said it beautifully: she’s won an Oscar, she’s won an Emmy, she’s won a Tony and she still can’t get paid.” Identifying his experience with the How to Get Away with Murder actress, Hounsou said. “Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
Nevertheless, Hounsou spoke of how he has taken pride from the respect he gained from starring in Shazam! Fury of the Gods when he played the Wizard.
“Out of them all, the DC universe has a level of respect,” Hounsou noted. “There wasn’t much to the role at first and I did it and it was fun. But the second time around it was a little more respectful.”
He added: “From time to time, [Hollywood] themselves make the point of saying, ‘We should give him more, he’s a little under-appreciated.’ I think they recognise that themselves. Hey, it’s the struggle I have to overcome!”
Shazam! Fury of the Gods, released earlier this month, is the sequel to the 2019 film Shazam!
Meanwhile, alongside Hounsou in Shazam! Fury of the Gods is Charlie’s Angel star, Lucy Liu.
As reported in Deadline, Liu is playing the role of supervillain Kalypso in the New Line and DC film and has joined Zachary Levi – who reprised his title role – alongside new cast Rachel Zegler and Helen Mirren.
As previously reported, Mirren took on the role of Hespera, a daughter of Atlas, in the sequel.
