Djimon Hounsou extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Djimon Gaston Hounsou
Hounsou arrives at the premiere of Push, Mann Theater, Westwood, USA 2009
Born	Djimon Gaston Hounsou April 24, 1964 (1964-04-24) (age 45) Cotonou, Benin
Occupation	Actor/Model
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Kimora Lee Simmons (2009-present) 1 child1

Djimon Gaston Hounsou (pronounced [dʒimɔ̃ hũsu];^{need tone} born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards.²

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Awards/nominations 6 References 7 External links

Early life

Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, the son of Albertine and Pierre Hounsou, a cook.³ He emigrated 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 1990.³⁴ One year before obtaining his college degree he dropped out of school.

Career

Hounsou's film debut was in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing, and he has had television parts 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 1989 Janet Jackson video “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” from Rhythm Nation 1814, which co-starred Antonio Sabato, Jr. 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 first African to be nominated for an Oscar. That same year, Charlize Theron, a South African actress, was nominated for her work in Monster, and was the first time that one African man and one African woman were nominated for an Oscar in the same year. 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.

On February 24, 2007, it was announced that Hounsou would be the new Calvin Klein underwear model. Starting with the Fall 2007 season, he was featured in the brand’s global print advertising campaign including the launch of their new Calvin Klein Steel product line.

Hounsou also acted in a supporting role in the 2009 science fiction film Push, as Agent Henry Carver.

Director Tim Story recently mentioned to IGN that if he was to do a third Fantastic Four movie, he would like to have Hounsou as the Black Panther. In November 2008, it was announced that Hounsou will be providing the voice of the Black Panther in the upcoming animated series of the same name.⁵ Also, David Jaffe expressed interest in seeing Hounsou portray the hero and main ,character, Kratos, in an upcoming movie based on the hit video game God of War. and Author,Director and Producer Epaphroditus Elkahan of Cry Freedom Pictures, expressed interest in him playing the first black President: Stanley Watson,in a movie based on the book "The President" "The Eppieologist".

Personal life

Since 2007, Hounsou has been dating model and CEO of the fashion label Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Simmons.⁶ On 30 May 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named in honour of Japanese fashion designer, Kenzo Takada. Hounsou is now a naturalized U.S. citizen⁷ and resides in Los Angeles. Hounsou and Simmons were married in 2009 before Kenzo's birth.

Mr. Hounsou spoke at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. ⁸ On Tuesday, 1 Dec. Hounsou told French media that developed countries “need to be held accountable” for their contribution to climate change. ⁹

Filmography

• Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as a doorman
• Without You I’m Nothing (1990)
• Unlawful Entry (1992)
• Stargate (1994) as Horus
• The Small Hours (1997)
• Amistad (1997)
• Ill Gotten Gains (1997)
• Deep Rising (1998)
• Gladiator (2000)
• The Middle Passage (2000) (documentary) (narrator in US version)
• The Tag (2001)
• Le Boulet/Dead Weight (2002) as Detective Youssouf
• The Four Feathers (2002)
• In America (2002)
• Heroes (2002) (short subject)
• Biker Boyz (2003)
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
• Alias (2004) (season 3, Mr Bomani)
• Blueberry (2004)
• Constantine (2005)
• Beauty Shop (2005)
• The Island (2005)
• Blood Diamond (2006)
• Eragon (2006)
• Never Back Down (2008)
• Push (2009)
• The Tempest (2010)

Awards/nominations

• Academy Awards
  • 2004 Best Supporting Actor: In America (Nominated)
  • 2007 Best Supporting Actor: Blood Diamond (Nominated)

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2004 Best Supporting Actor: In America (Winner)
  • 2007 Best Supporting Actor: Blood Diamond (Winner)

• Broadcast Film Critics
  • 2007, Best Supporting Actor: Blood Diamond (Nominated)

Golden Globes

• • 1998, Best Actor-Drama: Amistad (Nominated)

• Independent Spirit Awards
  • 2004, Best Supporting Male: In America (Winner)

• NAACP Image Awards
  • 1998, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Amistad (Winner)
  • 2004, Outstanding Supporting Actor: In America (Nominated)
  • 2007, Outstanding Supporting Actor: Blood Diamond (Winner)

• National Board of Review
  • 2006, Best Supporting Actor: Blood Diamond (Winner)

• Screen Actors Guild
  • 2001, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Gladiator (Nominated)
  • 2004, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: In America (Nominated)
  • 2007, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Blood Diamond (Nominated)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Djimon Hounsou

• Djimon Hounsou at the Internet Movie Database
• Punching Up His Career Courant.com (March 10, 2008)
• Djimon Hounsou: The Push Interview with Kam Williams