Djimon Gaston Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin on April 24, 1964—fun fact, that’s one day before my birthday. His childhood in West Africa isn’t well documented, however it is known that his father was a cook who earned a wage enough for a decent life (IMDB). At age 13, Hounsou left West Africa to live with his brother in Lyon, France. While living with his brother, his family wanted him to attend school and eventually become a doctor, but Hounsou had very little interest in school or medicine.
Rather than fulfill his family’s plan for him, Hounsou dropped out of college at age 20. He found himself living on the streets once his brother kicked him out of the house following his departure from school. He lived as a vagrant in Paris for over a year, and resorted to begging and scavenging for food scraps to stay alive (Encyclopedia.com). By a massive stroke of luck, Hounsou was discovered by a photographer who took note of his physique, thus opening the door to a career in modeling. His photo began circulating around the various agencies in Paris, which eventually led to a blossoming career by 1987. Hounsou found himself runway modeling, as well as working on advertising campaigns—a notable early example is the work he did for Thierry Mugler. More recently, in 2007, he was underwear model for Calvin Klein.
.jpg)
It was through his campaign work that he was inspired to pursue a career in acting, and ultimately move to the Los Angeles. These advertising campaigns helped him land his first acting roles in notable music video’s: Madonna’s “Express Yourself,” Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” and Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It” (UInterview).
Fluent in French and familiar with other Beninese indigenous languages, Hounsou barely spoke any English by the time he came to America for his acting debut. In 1990, he moved to Los Angeles to take drama classes and fully pursue an acting career. He had to teach himself English by watching American documentaries and keeping the subtitles on. By the time of his first film in 1990, Sandra Berhard’s Without You I’m Nothing, he still barely had a grasp of English. There were a few smaller roles following, but eyes were on him when he bested over 100 auditioners for Spielberg’s Amistad in 1997, earning him the NAACP Image Award for his role.
Despite never securing a lead role, Hounsou has managed to be nominated for his supporting roles. Under his belt are nominations for two Academy Awards, two Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globes Award, three NAACP Image Awards, and more (FactCeleb).
He now has a movie list over 50 strong, and continues to appear in well-known franchises: Black Panther, Aquaman, A Quiet Place 2, etc.
In 2007, he decided to become a US citizen, but also didn’t want to leave behind his West African roots. He achieved dual citizenship and is now officially Beninese-American.
Sources
“Djimon Hounsou.” Encyclopedia.com, 29 May, 2018, http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/djimon-hounsou.
“Djimon Hounsou.” Empire, http://www.empireonline.com/people/djimon-hounsou/.
“Djimon Hounsou.” IMDb, IMDb.com, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005023/bio.
“Djimon Hounsou: ‘My Son Told Me, I Want to Be Light-Skinned so I Can Climb the Walls like Spider-Man’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Nov. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/03/djimon-hounsou-my-son-told-me-i-want-to-be-light-skinned-so-i-can-climb-the-walls-like-spider-man.
“Djimon Hounsou Bio, Age, Modelling, Movies, Shazam, Aquaman, Height, Wife, Girlfriend, Son, Net Worth.” Fact Celeb, Fact Celeb, 30 June 2020, factceleb.com/biography/djimon-hounsou-bio-age-modelling-movies-shazam-aquaman-height-wife-girlfriend-son-net-worth.
Beyond the Single Story 