Name pronounced Jie-mon Hahn-soo.
Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Bénin, to Albertine and Pierre Hounsou, a cook. He emigrated to Lyon in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond.
He came to Paris from Benin at the age of 13, couldn’t find a job and ended as a vagrant, sleeping under bridges and rummaging in trash cans for food. His luck turned when fate smiled upon him as he was rummaging through trash for food and his picture was taken by a photographer working for renowned fashion designer Thierry Mugler. Mugler went through the photos and was mesmerised by the build of the Djimon and immediately set out a nationwide manhunt to find this homeless man and make him his next campaign image. Long story short, the rest is history.
Hounsou made his film debut in Without You I’m Nothing. His career went into high gear when he was cast as Cinque, the leader of a slave ship mutiny in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film Amistad. The actor proved himself again in 2000’s Gladiator and in 2004’s In America, for which he received an Oscar nod for his performance as a virus-afflicted artist. In 2006’s Blood Diamond, Hounsou plays a father who has lost his son to rebels in the Sierra Leone Civil War. He earned several awards for his heart-wrenching performance, including his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Djimon has graced the covers of magazines and movie blockbusters like Fast and Furious 7,The Island,Tarzan, Guardians Of the Galaxy just to name a few.
#Inspirational…