“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” actor Djimon Hounsou confessed that Hollywood life isn’t all it’s cut out to be.
After acting within the industry for greater than 30 years, Hounsou revealed he felt slighted by the Hollywood pay and said he’s faced challenges with money.
“I’m still struggling to attempt to make a dollar!” he expressed during an interview with The Guardian.
“I’ve come up within the business with some people who find themselves absolutely well off and have little or no of my accolades. So I feel cheated, tremendously cheated, when it comes to funds and when it comes to the workload as well.”
Hounsou spoke out about how he needed to fight for the paycheck he felt he deserved and was constantly disrespected.
“I still must prove why I would like to receives a commission,” he told the media outlet. “They all the time come at me with an entire low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you a lot and we actually think you may bring a lot’… Film after film, it’s a struggle. I even have yet to satisfy the film that paid me fairly.”
The 58-year-old actor expressed he felt no support from anybody for his performances.
He also admitted feeling infuriated by the limited roles for Black actors and opened up about how he portrayed a slave 3 times inside a five-year span.
“I felt seriously cheated,” Hounsou emphasized.
“Today, we talk a lot concerning the Oscars being so white, but I remember there was a time where I had no support in any respect: no support from my very own people, no support from the media, from the industry itself. It felt like: ‘You need to be completely happy that you just’ve got nominated,’ and that’s that.”
Hounsou’s rise to fame began within the Steve Spielberg film, “Amistad” where he portrayed a rebellious enslaved person.
Nevertheless, Hounsou said he was ignored by Hollywood since his co-star Anthony Hopkins received a nomination over him.
Despite Hounsou being nominated for his performances in “In America” and “Blood Diamond” with Leonardo DiCaprio, he added it was unfair that his co-star received a nomination for best actor because the movie follows Hounsou’s character.
Over his wide-ranged profession, Hounsou starred in “Gladiator,” “Furious 7,” “Tomb Raider,” “Aquaman” and other action-packed movies.
One film that he does enjoy working on is the “Shazam!” sequel.
“Out of all of them, the DC universe has a level of respect,” he remarked. “There wasn’t much to the role at first… I did it and it was fun. However the second time around it was a little bit more respectful.”
He believes that Hollywood is slowly but surely giving him a probability and hopes for more screen time in larger productions.
