Two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou revealed he still finds it difficult to “make a living” in Hollywood, despite receiving reviews and awards for films big and small.

In a recent interview on CNN African Voices Changemakersthe Benin-born actor – whose best-known performances include Ridley Scott gladiatorSteven Spielberg’s Amistad, Blood Diamond opposite Jennifer Connelly and Leonardo DiCaprio and In America (The latter two, which won him the Oscar, nod) – said he was often cautious about the financial rewards for his work.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” he said. “I have been in this business making films for over two decades now, have received two Oscar nominations, appeared in many blockbuster films, and yet I still have financial problems. I’m definitely underpaid.”

Looking back at his breakthrough in 1997 AmistadIn the film, in which he played slave rebellion leader Cinqué, Hounsou claimed he was passed over for an Oscar nomination because of xenophobia and racism.

“I was nominated for a Golden Globe, but at the Oscars they ignored me and talked about how they thought I had just come off the boat and off the streets,” he claimed. “Even though I made this film successfully, they just didn’t feel like I was an actor they should give respect to. This conceptual idea of ​​diversity still has a long way to go. Systemic racism is not going to change anytime soon.”

Hounsou, whose recent credits include A Quiet Place: Day One, Gran Turismo And Shazam! anger of the gods, has previously spoken about the obstacles he faces. In conversation with The Guardian In 2023, he said he “hasn’t yet found the film that paid me fairly.”

“I still have a hard time making a dollar! I’ve come across some people in the business who are doing absolutely fine and have very little of my accolades. So I feel cheated, hugely cheated, both financially and in terms of workload. I’ve gone to meetings in studios and they’ve said, “Wow, we felt like you just got off the boat and then went back (afterward). Amistad). “We didn’t know you were here as a real actor.” When you hear things like that, you can realize 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 make this right.”

Honsou has a series of thrillers coming soon: horror films The monster out of Seen Darren Lynn Bousman from the franchise, a shark film alongside Phoebe Dynevor Under the storm and claustrophobic thriller The Zealot with Kodi Smit-McPhee.