Djimon Hounsou has undoubtedly been one of the most commendable big-screen presences ever since the inception of his career in 1990, but that’s not the case with his recognition. Not only has he faced insulting snubs before by the Academy, but the 59-year-old legendary actor has also been the victim of unfair pay: one of the biggest issues raging in Hollywood.
However, this time, instead of letting it go as he did with his 2006 Oscar snub for Blood Diamond (that gave the recognition he deserved to Leonardo DiCaprio instead), Hounsou decided to speak up and expose Hollywood for its racism.
Djimon Hounsou Once Again Exposed Hollywood’s Racism
The racist unfair pay practice followed by Hollywood has been a massive problem that many wish to completely eradicate. And just like almost every other female actress and non-white celebrity, Djimon Hounsou has been a prey of it as well.
Recently, following the tremendous appreciation he received for the exceptional way he brought his Rebel Moon character General Titus to life, the Gladiator star appeared in an interview with Discussing Film.
It was there that he was asked about how unfairly he has been paid for his immaculate big screen works, and if he feels it has changed at all lately. Answering to that, he said:
“You know, it is still with a certain level of challenge, in respect of where I’m at with the whole business aspect of filmmaking. Another guy told me that for the decades that I’ve been part of the industry now, he hasn’t seen a film in a while where I’ve been given my due. I’m not quite sure how to answer that right now, but it’s not where it needs to be yet. Let’s put it that way.”
As it seems from his answer, Hollywood is still being unfair to Djimon Hounsou even though he has continued to gift the industry with some of the best works of all time for more than three decades now.
However, what’s even worse than this is the fact that this hasn’t started recently with him, but rather, Hounsou has been a victim of Hollywood’s racism for quite some time now.
17 Years Ago, Djimon Hounsou Was Snubbed At The Oscars
Djimon Hounsou has brought to life some of the biggest fan-favorite characters of all time and has even bagged prominent roles in master franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite that, he fails to be truly recognized by some bodies, including the Academy.
17 years ago, in Blood Diamond, the actor gave a brilliant performance as Solomon Vandy, the character on whose life the entire film was focused. However, instead of bagging an Oscar for Best Actor for his commendable performance, Hounsou found himself sidelined with Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod while his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio earned the nomination for Best Actor.
Appearing in an interview earlier this year with The Guardian, the Shazam! star explained how he felt in that situation.
“I felt seriously cheated,” he said. “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.”
While that is indeed infuriating, it further proves that Hollywood has indeed been a major racist body in many fields–something that needs to be eradicated as soon as possible before the industry ends up destroying itself over this issue.
