Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Djimon Hounsouis speaking about his treatment in Hollywood.
“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.”
Hounsou, 58, receivedAcademy Awardnominations for Best Supporting Actor for his roles inIn America(2003) andBlood Diamond(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.”
“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 [afterAmistad]. We didn’t know you were here as a true actor,’ " Hounsou said of his breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 filmAmistad.
“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 continued.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” he toldThe Guardian. “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 Davissaid it beautifully: she’s won an Oscar, she’s won an Emmy, she’s won a Tony and she still can’t get paid,” Hounsou said, comparing his experience to the nowEGOT-winningactress. “Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
However, Hounsou has felt respect from starring inShazam! Fury of the Godsas the wizard who grants Billy Batson his superhero powers.
“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.”
“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 recognize that themselves,” Hounsou continued. “Hey, it’s the struggle I have to overcome!”
Warner Bros.
Zachary Levimakes his return as the titular superhero character opposite Asher Angel, who is reprising his role as Shazam’s teenage alter ego, Billy Batson.
In the sequel, Billy “and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world,” according to an official synopsis for the movie fromDC’s website.
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Shazam! Fury of the Godsis now in theaters.
source: people.com
