Djimon Hounsou

Acting

Djimon Hounsou

Born 1964-04-24 · Cotonou, Dahomey [now Benin]

Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos, made his film debut in Without You I'm Nothing and earned widespread recognition for his role as Cinqué in the Steven Spielberg film Amistad. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Hounsou became a naturalized American citizen in 2007. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a dual citizen of both Benin and the United States, effectively rendering him a Beninese-American. Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, in 1964, to lbertine and Pierre Hounsou. He immigrated to Lyon in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond. In 1987, he became a model and established a career in Paris. He moved to the U.S. in 1990. One year before obtaining his college degree, he dropped out of school. In 1989, he appeared in a music video of Straight Up by Paula Abdul. Hounsou's film debut was in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing, and he has had television roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and ER and a guest starring role on Alias, but received a larger role in the science fiction film Stargate. His first on-screen appearance was in the 1990 Janet Jackson video “Love Will Never Do (Without You).” He also starred in a 2002 Gap commercial directed by Peter Lindbergh, dancing to a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" by Arrested Development's Baba Oje. He received wide critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Cinqué in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad. He gained further notice as Juba, in the 2000 film Gladiator. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for In America, in 2004, becoming the fourth African male to be nominated for an Oscar (along with Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway and Omar Sharif). In 2006, he won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond; he received Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award nominations for this performance. In 2007, Hounsou began dating model/CEO of Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Simmons. In 2008 Hounsou and Simmons visited Hounsou's family and while there, the two participated in a traditional commitment ceremony. On May 30, 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named because Kenzo means 3 (Kimora's third child).

Acting credits

Gladiator poster
8.2

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

Gladiator

2000

Black Adam poster
6.8

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

Black Adam

2022

How to Train Your Dragon 2 poster
7.7

Five years after uniting the dragons and Vikings of Berk, Hiccup and Toothless soar beyond their homeland, charting the vast unknown. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider with a startling connection to Hiccup. And as the ruthless dragon conqueror Drago Bludvist rises to seize control of both dragons and people alike, Hiccup must step into his role as a true leader and, alongside his friends and Toothless, protect Berk from a devastating war.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

2014

Captain Marvel poster
6.8

The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain Marvel

2019

Constantine poster
7.2

John Constantine has literally been to Hell and back. When he teams up with a policewoman to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.

Constantine

2005

A Quiet Place Part II poster
7.4

Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.

A Quiet Place Part II

2021

Guardians of the Galaxy poster
7.9

Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

Guardians of the Galaxy

2014

Aquaman poster
6.9

Half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry is taken on the journey of his lifetime to discover if he is worth of being a king.

Aquaman

2018

The Passenger poster
5.5

Hassan, a Somali-American airport shuttle driver in Minneapolis, is struggling to make ends meet. When Lloyd, a stranded twenty-something at the airport, offers to pay Hassan to take him overland to Chicago, it seems worth the risk. But as the realization grows that his passenger is not what he seems, Hassan finds himself trapped in a terrifying ride that he can’t escape, knowing that saving himself might put countless others in danger.

The Passenger

2026

Blood Diamond poster
7.6

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.

Blood Diamond

2006

Furious 7 poster
7.2

Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.

Furious 7

2015

Shazam! Fury of the Gods poster
6.4

Billy Batson and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying "Shazam!", are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas, who they must stop from using a weapon that could destroy the world.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

2023

Thrash poster
6.2

When a catastrophic hurricane slams a coastal town, stranded residents must survive rapidly rising waters swarming with ravenous sharks.

Thrash

2026

A Quiet Place: Day One poster
6.6

As New York City is invaded by alien creatures who hunt by sound, a woman named Sam fights to survive with her cat.

A Quiet Place: Day One

2024

Shazam! poster
7.0

A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.

Shazam!

2019

Charlie's Angels poster
6.4

Elena Houghlin is a scientist, engineer and inventor of Calisto -- a sustainable energy source that will revolutionize the way people use power. It will be ready as soon as she works out the last issue, if not it could be turned into a dangerous weapon. But when the cutting edge technology is pushed to an investor before she can do that, Elena turns to the Townsend Agency for help. Now, it's up to the Angels -- Jane, Sabina, and the newly recruited Elena -- to retrieve Calisto before it can be transformed into a weapon of mass destruction.

Charlie's Angels

2019

Gran Turismo poster
7.7

The ultimate wish-fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won him a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.

Gran Turismo

2023

The King's Man poster
6.7

As a collection of history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them.

The King's Man

2021

The Island poster
6.7

In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.

The Island

2005

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank poster
6.6

A hard-on-his-luck hound finds himself in a town full of cats in need of a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain's wicked plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant mentor, our underdog must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

2022

Stargate poster
7.0

An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.

Stargate

1994

The Legend of Tarzan poster
5.9

Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

The Legend of Tarzan

2016

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword poster
6.6

When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern, Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy... whether he likes it or not.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

2017

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver poster
6.1

The rebels gear up for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld as unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge — and legends are made.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver

2024

Behind the camera