Djimon Hounsou

A two-time Academy Award-nominated actor for his work in Ed Zwick’s BLOOD DIAMOND and Jim Sheridan’s IN AMERICA, DJIMON HOUNSOU most recently appeared in A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, directed by Michael Samoski and Zack Snyder’s REBEL MOON. Hounsou’s upcoming projects include Vadim Perelman’s thriller ZEALOT, which follows Hassan, a Minneapolis airport shuttle driver who picks up a stranded twentysomething (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and agrees to drive him to Chicago. As the realization grows that his passenger is not what he seems, Hassan finds he is trapped in a terrifying ride from which he can’t escape. Hounsou also stars in the horror-thriller THE MONSTER, which follows two millennials who make quick money by leasing incredible New York City apartments they don’t own to people who are unaware they’re being scammed. Darren Lynn Bousman directs from a screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. Hounsou will also star alongside Halle Berry in Joel Souza’s RED CARD, written by George Gallo and Academy Award–nominated writer Nick Vallelonga. During Memorial Day weekend next year, Sony will release SHIVER, a shark thriller written and directed by Tommy Wirkola from producers Adam McKay and Kevin Messick. Phoebe Dynevor and Whitney Peak also star. Born in Benin, West Africa, Hounsou moved to Paris at the age of 13 to pursue a Western education. As an adult, he was discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler and subsequently modeled for and appeared in several iconic music videos for legendary photographer Herb Ritts and director David Fincher. Small film roles followed before Hounsou’s breakthrough performance as Cinque, the African who leads an uprising to regain his freedom in Steven Spielberg’s AMISTAD (1997). Hounsou earned a Golden Globe nomination and a NAACP Image Award for the part. He later shared a SAG Award nomination as a member of the cast of Ridley Scott’s Academy Award-winning Best Picture GLADIATOR. In 2006, Hounsou received an NAACP Image Award, a National Board of Review citation and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his role as a forced laborer who discovers a rare gem in BLOOD DIAMOND, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. For his performance as an artist afflicted with AIDS in IN AMERICA, Hounsou garnered an Independent Spirit Award, was named 2004’s ShoWest Supporting Actor of the Year and shared an ensemble SAG Award nomination. His film credits also include THE KING’S MAN, A QUIET PLACE PART II, CAPTAIN MARVEL, SHAZAM! and SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, KING ARTHUR: THE LEGEND OF THE SWORD and THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. He lent his voice as Drago Bludvist to HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 and also co-starred in SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME, THE ISLAND, THE TEMPEST, ERAGON, CONSTANTINE, LARA CROFT, TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE and THE FOUR FEATHERS with Heath Ledger. For television, Hounsou voiced The Black Panther in the BET animated series based on the Marvel Comic. He also starred as a refugee seeking asylum in a memorable six-episode arc on ER and played a recurring role in the series ALIAS, starring Jennifer Garner. More recently, he starred in the second season of WAYWARD PINES on FOX. Through Fanaticus, his production company devoted to promoting the stories of Africa, Hounsou directed the documentary IN SEARCH OF VOODOO: ROOTS TO HEAVEN (2018). In 2009, he opened the UN General Assembly in New York with a compelling speech about the impact of climate change on developing nations. Hounsou has appeared before the US Senate on behalf of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and participated in a hearing and summit for the International Arms Ban Treaty. On December 2, 2019, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Hounsou announced the formation of the Djimon Hounsou Foundation (DHF) at the United Nations in New York City. Hounsou’s nonprofit, which is based in California, aims to reconnect the African Diaspora with the motherland and combat Modern-Day Slavery & Human Trafficking.