Djimon Hounsou

Actor, Producer, Director

Birthdate: April 24, 1964 (62 Years Old)

Birthplace: Cotonou, Benin

Djimon Hounsou (Djimon Gaston Hounsou) is one of the rare African actors to have found success in Hollywood, bringing authenticity to a range of roles previously unseen on American screens. Even after his stellar 30-plus-year career, Hounsou remains fairly exceptional in commercial cinema that dramatizes a limited, somewhat stereotyped depiction of African characters. But his success—including two Oscar nominations--has opened the door for other African artists aspiring to Hollywood careers. After a fine but brief modeling career in Paris, Djimon Hounsou emigrated to the U.S. in 1990. He quickly landed in the movies, first in small roles in such films as Sandra Bernhard’s autobiographical Without You I’m Nothing (1990); Jonathan Kaplan’s thriller Unlawful Entry (1992), with Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe, and Ray Liotta; Roger Avery’s crime drama, Killing Zoe (1993), with Eric Stoltz and Julie Delpy; and Roland Emmerich’s science fiction adventure, Stargate (1994), with Russell, James Spader, and Jaye Davidson. Hounsou’s breakthrough role, as slave revolt leader Joseph Cinqué in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997), earned Hounsou a Golden Globe Best Actor nomination and Best Actor win from the NAACP Image Awards. Ridley Scott cast Djimon Hounsou in his Oscar-winning epic, Gladiator (2000), with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Derek Jacobi, Oliver Reed, and Richard Harris. Another historical epic was The Four Feathers (2002), in which Hounsou co-starred with Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, and Kate Hudson, followed by Jim Sheridan’s immigrant drama, In America (2003), for which Hounsou scored his first Oscar nomination and second Screen Actors Guild nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Hounsou continued his stellar supporting work in the Los Angeles street drama, Biker Boyz (2003), directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood and starring Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, and Orlando Jones; in Jan de Bont’s blockbuster, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider—The Cradle of Life (2003), with Angelina Jolie and Gerard Butler; in Francis Lawrence’s DC Comics version of Hellblazer, Constantine (2005), with Keanu Reeves; and in Michael Bay’s thriller, The Island (2005), with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. Djimon Hounsou’s next major role was as co-star with Leonardo DiCaprio in Edward Zwick’s topical drama, Blood Diamond (2006), with Jennifer Connelly, for which he received his second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won the NAACP Image Awards and the National Board of Review. Hounsou explored an adventurous version of Shakespeare, playing the Taliban in Julie Taylor’s The Tempest (2010), with Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Alan Cumming, Felicity Jones, and Alfred Molina. Starting in 2014, Hounsou began to be cast in several franchises, starting with his vocal performance in DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2, with Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, and Jonah Hill, followed by Hounsou’s ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), with Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana and grossing worldwide a total of $773 million. Djimon Hounsou then jumped into the Fast and Furious business with Furious 7 (2015), as Mose Jakande, with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Paul Walker, earning a global gross of $1.5 billion. Hounsou’s Korath next appeared in the MCU production, Captain Marvel (2019), with Brie Larson in the title role, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ben Mendelsohn, globally grossing over $1.1 billion. Hounsou jumped to rival DC Comics’ cinematic universe for the blockbuster hit, Aquaman (2018), with Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and also earned over $1.1 billion worldwide in box office returns. Hounsou’s second DC Comics project was the modestly profitable Shazam! (2019), in which he played The Wizard opposite Zachary Levi and Mark Strong; Hounsou revived the character in two 2022 releases: the Shazam! The sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022) and the launch of the new franchise, Black Adam, with Dwayne Johnson and Aldis Hodge. The rare would-be franchise (the first of a planned six-film series) that failed with Hounsou in the cast was Guy Ritchie’s box-office bomb, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), with Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law. In 2019, Djimon Hounsou appeared in the revival of Charlie’s Angels (2019), as Bosley, opposite Kristen Stewart and Elizabeth Banks, followed by the Kingsman sequel, Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Men (2021), with Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, and Matthew Goode. Hounsou is the voice of Sumo in the animated feature, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022), with the voices of Michelle Yeoh, Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson, Mel Brooks, and Ricky Gervais. Hounsou’s next major project was filmmaker Zack Snyder’s Star Wars-inspired Rebel Moon (2023) for Netflix, with Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins, and Cary Elwes. Hounsou performed a voice in the vocal cast of director Tim Harper’s rainforest drama, Ozi—Voice of the Forest (2023), with Laura Dern, Donald Sutherland, and Amandla Stenberg. Hounsou is attached to director Alex Parkinson’s dramatized version of his co-directed 2019 undersea adventure documentary, Last Breath, with Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.

Personal Life
Movies
Facts

Personal life

Djimon Hounsou was born and raised in Cotonou, Dahomey (now the nation-state of Benin) by parents Albertine and Pierre Hounsou. He has four siblings, including one brother, Edmond. After he turned twelve years old, Hounsou emigrated to France with Edmond, where he experienced homelessness after dropping out of school. In 2008, Hounsou participated in a traditional commitment ceremony in his homeland of Benin to businessperson and TV personality Kimora Lee Simmons, though the couple did not legally marry in the U.S. Their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, was born in 2009. The couple separated in 2012. Hounsou’s height is 6’ 1½”.

Known For

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Wizard (2023)

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

Sumo (2022)

The King's Man

Shola (2021)

Shazam!

Wizard (2019)

Captain Marvel

Korath (2019)

Awards

Two-time Nominee, Best Supporting Actor, Academy Awards (2004, 2007); Nominee, Best Actor, Golden Globe Awards (1998); Winner, Best Supporting Male, Independent Spirit Awards (2004); Three-time Nominee, Motion Picture Cast/Best Supporting Actor, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2001, 2004, 2007); Winner, Supporting Actor of the Year, ShoWest (2004).

Golden Globe

Golden Globe

Golden Globes, USA

Actor

Actor

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Oscar

Oscar

Academy Awards, USA

Djimon Hounsou Movies

Actor

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Previous (22)

2024 |
A Quiet Place: Day One
A Quiet Place: Day One
2024
Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A young woman named Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.
More Info
asHenri
2024 |
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver
2024
Action, Adventure, Drama
Kora and surviving warriors prepare to defend Veldt, their new home, alongside its people against the Realm. The warriors face their pasts, revealing their motivations before the Realm's forces arrive to crush the growing rebellion.
asTitus
2023 |
Gran Turismo
Gran Turismo
2023
Action, Adventure, Drama, Sport
Based on the unbelievable, inspiring true story of a team of underdogs - a struggling, working-class gamer, a failed former race car driver, and an idealistic motorsport exec - who risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world.
More Info
asSteve Mardenborough
2023 |
Air
Air
2023
Drama, Sport
The history of the game-changing partnership between a then undiscovered Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and culture with the Air Jordan brand.
asCartwright
2023 |
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
2023
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
The film continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!", is transformed into his adult superhero alter ego, Shazam.
More Info
asWizard
2022 |
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
2022
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Hank, a loveable dog with a head full of dreams about becoming a samurai, sets off in search of his destiny.
asSumo
2021 |
A Quiet Place Part II
A Quiet Place Part II
2021
Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path.
More Info
asMan on Island
2021 |
The King's Man
The King's Man
2021
Action, Adventure, Thriller
In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions.
asShola
2019 |
Shazam!
Shazam!
2019
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A newly fostered young boy in search of his mother instead finds unexpected super powers and soon gains a powerful enemy.
More Info
asWizard
2019 |
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel
2019
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
More Info
asKorath
2019 |
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
2019
Action, Adventure, Comedy
When a young systems engineer blows the whistle on a dangerous technology, Charlie's Angels are called into action, putting their lives on the line to protect us all.
More Info
asEdgar Bosley
2019 |
Serenity
Serenity
2019
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A fishing boat captain juggles facing his mysterious past and finding himself ensnared in a reality where nothing is what it seems.
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asDuke
2018 |
The Island
The Island
2018
Comedy, Drama
A cataclysmic event causes a man, who dreams of winning the lottery, to become stranded on an island with his co-workers.
More Info
asAlbert Laurent
2017 |
Same Kind of Different as Me
Same Kind of Different as Me
2017
Biography, Drama
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
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asDenver Moore
2017 |
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
2017
Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy - whether he likes it or not.
asBedivere
-- |
Seventh Sonas Radu
-- |
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)as Drago
-- |
as Korath
-- |
Baggage Claimas Quinton
-- |
Gladiatoras Juba
-- |
Furious 7as Jakande
-- |
Guardians of the Galaxyas Korath

Facts About Djimon Hounsou

Discovered: Djimon Hounsou’s remarkable life change happened when he was a homeless teenager in Paris, where he encountered a fashion photographer connected with famed designer Thierry Mugler, who urged Hounsou to model. A few years later, Hounsou had become a successful Paris-based model. Traditional: Hounsou’s partnership with TV personality Kimora Lee Simmons wasn’t a U.S. marriage ceremony, but a traditional commitment ceremony in Benin, the nation of Hounsou’s birth (formerly Dahomey).

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