Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Hounsou Trivia
-
Trivia
ADD TRIVIA-
Djimon has been nominated for three SAG Awards. In 2001, he was nominated for "Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture" for Gladiator. In 2004, he was nominated for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture" for In America. In 2007, he was nominated for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" for Blood Diamond.
-
Djimon was nominated for a 2007 Oscar for Best Performance by an actor in a supporting role, for his role in Blood Diamond.
-
Djimon was presented with a Best Supporting Actor Award by the National Board of Review for his role as Solomon Vandy in the 2006 film Blood Diamond.
-
Film Credits: 2006 - Eragon, Ajihad 2006 - Blood Diamond, Solomon Vandy 2005 - The Island, Albert Laurent 2005 - Beauty Shop, Joe 2005 - Constantine, Midnite 2004 - Blueberry, Woodhead 2003 - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Kosa 2003 - Biker Boyz, Motherland 2002 - Heroes, Mystery Man 2002 - In America, Mateo 2002 - The Four Feathers, Abou Fatma 2002 - Boulet, Le, Det. Youssouf 2001 - The Tag, Marshall 2000 - Passage du milieu, Narrator 2000 - Gladiator, Juba 1998 - Deep Rising, Vivo 1997 - Ill Gotten Gains, Fyah 1997 - Amistad, Cinque 1997 - The Small Hours 1994 - Stargate, Horus 1992 - Unlawful Entry, Prisoner on Bench 1990 - Without You I'm Nothing, Ex-Boyfriend
-
Djimons life was threatened by a gunman during the filming of Blood Diamond (2006). Djimon credits co-star Leonardo Dicaprio with saving his life after he stood between Djimon and the assailant.
-
For his role as Cinque in the 1997 film Amistad, Djimon learned to speak a fair bit of Mende (the language of Sierra Leone), as that was the primary language his character spoke.
-
Djimon appeared in a Janet Jackson music video in 1990, titled "Love Will Never Do (Without You)".
-
Djimon lived on the streets of Paris, from the time he was 13, until he became a model after being found by fashion designer Thierry Mugler.
-
Djimon made his film debut with a small role in the film Without You I'm Nothing, in 1990.
-
Djimon is 6' 4" (193cm) tall.
-
Djimons first name is pronounced "Jie-mon" and his surname is pronounced "Hahn-soo".
-
Djimon was nominated for a 'Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture' award at the 1998 Golden Globes for his role as Cinque in Amistad.
-
Djimon is the youngest of five children. He has three older brothers and one older sister.
-
Djimon was nominated for 'Best Supporting Actor' at the 2004 Academy Awards for his role as Mateo in the film In America.
-
-
Quotes
ADD QUOTES-
Djimon: Africa is my continent. It is where I opened my eyes. The more awareness we can bring to an issue there, the more people will rally the leaders of developed countries to do something about it.
-
(on filming violent scenes in "Blood Diamond") Djimon: I've never done anything this rough. Scene after scene my body gets hurt. It was extremely challenging. Earlier in the shoot, Leo was beating me up take after take. My chest was hurting for weeks. If I'd been white, I'd have been black and blue!
-
Djimon: At the end of the day, we are all part of this world. Africans love movies from America and elsewhere, but we also love to dream and we have many, many stories to tell.
-
(on his film "Eragon") Djimon: Was a wonderful fantasy to live in. It was a lot easier and a lot more fun than Blood Diamond, because, as an actor, you get to believe in things that are not there. They tell you a dragon is near you, so you look up at the "dragon" and say, 'Oh, what a scary creature.'
-
Djimon: I like light-hearted pictures, too, but I guess I feel a little more comfortable in the more intense, dramatic realm. I'm not sure if I feel like other kinds of stories speak to me.
-
Djimon: I think we all have a responsibility, as citizens of this world, to do what is really necessary to change the outcome of this trading issue. To do nothing is intolerable. And to just do something is certainly not enough.
-
(on the making of "Blood Diamond") Djimon: Africa just demands so much of you. It didn't occur to me how challenging and heartbreaking making this movie was going to be. The physicality and emotional content of the story were overwhelming.
-
(on returning to Africa to film "Blood Diamond") Djimon: I was extremely grateful for the opportunity, even though this was the most difficult film I've ever been part of, and the most poignant, also, in terms of everything that's going on throughout Africa.
-
(on what interested him about the film "Blood Diamond") Djimon: We made this movie to bring awareness to the trade of diamonds, period. Because people are losing their lives over it.
-
(following his non-English speaking role in Amistad) Djimon: A lot of people in the industry are almost shocked to find I do speak English, that I'm in America.
-
(on the difficulties black actors have in Hollywood) Djimon: You have to fight and fight for them to think of a role as being black because they've been thinking white, white, white.
-
Djimon: The continent which stood for so much and was the cradle of life has become the cradle of death. Everybody has gone to Africa and everybody has drawn or gotten something from Africa. I think it's about time we gave something back to that continent.
-
(on his Constantine character, Papa Midnite) Djimon: I really thought I saw him as a politician. I saw him as somebody who understood his own limitations and respected others to co-exist. His politics were really not bad. There's really no negative connotation to it. It's through his politics really that they are all allowed to co-exist. That's what creates the bonus for him.
-
Djimon: You know something is wrong when the world's wealthiest countries and the world's poorest countries are competing against each other in the same world market and yet the rich countries won't play by the same rules that they themselves set.
-
(on what he looks for in a script) Djimon: A good story, pure and simply. Once you have a decent story, you look at your character. Is it somewhat decent? How is it supposed to be played? At this point, I'm always concerned how African Americans are portrayed in films.
-
(on being homeless in Paris) Djimon: I thought I could make my dreams come true in Paris but things always seemed to work against me.
-
(about the film Constantine doing justice to the comic books) Djimon: You sort of have to forget about that and just worry about the story that you're telling, and where you are at in that story. And hope that it does it justice.
-
(on whether his life has changed since the Oscar nomination) Djimon: How it has changed, I never really will know, because this is still the beginning of things of new things, so I'm still just coming to continue experiencing and living and benefiting all of the great things that came from the nomination. So all of this is part of the learning process.
-
Djimon: I haven't had to change my accent to play an American role. First of all, it's difficult for me to do because English is my fifth language. Secondly, there are other actors - African-American actors - who can easily do that without me having to stretch myself to that degree. I don't really care to be the generic African-American actor.
-
-
sassy_eggs EDITOR
User Score: 62
-
MWCW
User Score: 7
-
khaki_dojo
User Score: 5
-
thfan2
User Score: 5
-
1treehillfan
User Score: 2
-
madison1314
User Score: 2
-
fuddle2
User Score: 1
More
Less
