Shazam!'s Djimon Hounsou says he feels "cheated" over pay
Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Djimon Hounsou has lamented the pay inequality he's faced throughout such a celebrated career.
Nominated for two Oscars in the Best Supporting Actor category thanks to his performances in 2002 drama In America and 2006 thriller Blood Diamond, apparently, the Beninese-American still struggles to "make a dollar".
"I've come up in the business with some people who are absolutely well-off and have very little of my accolades," he told The Guardian. "So I feel cheated, tremendously cheated, in terms of finances and in terms of the workload as well."
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Hounsou elaborated: "I've gone to studios for meetings and they're like: 'Wow, we felt like you just got off the boat and then went back [post-Amistad, his breakout movie with Steven Spielberg]. We didn't know you were here as a true actor.'
"When you hear things like that, you can see that some people's vision of you, or what you represent, is very limiting. But it is what it is. It's up to me to redeem that.
"I still have to prove why I need to get paid. They always come at me with a complete low ball: 'We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much.'
“Viola Davis said it beautifully: she’s won an Oscar, she’s won an Emmy, she’s won a Tony and she still can’t get paid. Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
Related: Marvel star Djimon Hounsou reveals painful The King's Man memory
Despite feeling shortchanged by Hollywood, the Furious 7 and Charlie's Angels cast member continues to cultivate one hell of a CV.
According to Lupita Nyong'o, Hounsou is currently filming A Quiet Place: Day One, which'll see him reprise A Quiet Place Part II's mysterious 'Man On Island'.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is out now in cinemas.
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