Shazam! Wrath of the Gods Star Djimon Hounsou has lamented the pay inequality he has faced throughout such an illustrious career.
Nominated for two Oscars in the Best Supporting Actor category thanks to his performance in the 2002 drama In America and thriller from 2006 Blood diamondapparently the Beninese-American is still struggling to “make a dollar”.
“I’ve come up in the business with some people who are absolutely well off and have very few of my accolades,” he shared The Guardian. “So I feel cheated, badly cheated, in terms of finances and also in terms of workload.”
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Hounsou elaborated, “I’ve gone into studios for meetings and they’re like, ‘Wow, we felt like you just got off the boat and then went back (after-Amistad, his breakout film with Steven Spielberg). We didn’t know you were here as a real actor.’
“When you hear something like that, you see that some people’s view of you or what you represent is very limiting. But it is what it is. It’s up to me to redeem it.
“I still have to prove why I should get paid. They always come at me with a complete low ball: “We only have so 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. Movie after movie, it’s a struggle. I’ve yet to meet the movie that paid me fairly.”
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Despite feeling shortchanged by Hollywood, it is Furious 7 and Charlie’s Angels the cast continues to cultivate one heck of a resume.
According to Lupita Nyong’o, Hounsou is currently filming A Quiet Place: Day Onewho will see him repeat himself A Quiet Place Part II‘s mysterious ‘Man On Island’.
Shazam! Wrath of the Gods is now out in cinemas.
