Marvel and ‘Quiet Place’ Star Says He’s ‘Struggling to Make a Living’

• Guardians of the Galaxy and A Quiet Place actor Djimon Hounsou revealed in a new interview with CNN that he’s “underpaid” as an actor and still “struggling to make a living” despite starring in some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises and being a two-time Oscar nominee.

Hounsou broke out with an Oscar-nominated supporting performance in Jim Sheridan’s diaspora epic In America (2002). Five years later, he was nominated again for his co-starring role opposite Leonard DiCaprio in Blood Diamond. Since then, Hounsou has become an ubiquitous fixture as the supporting player in massive-scale productions like Furious 7 (2015); A Quiet Place Part II (2021) and last summer’s prequel A Quiet Place: Day One; and Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon duology. Hounsou is also one of the very few actors to have major roles in both the Marvel and DC Universes, with roles in Guardians and Captain Marvel as well as the rival studio’s Aquaman and Shazam franchises.
But, “I’m still struggling to make a living,” the actor told CNN. “After 30 years…maybe the first 10 years was trying to acclimate myself to the industry, to establish myself. But I’ve been in this business making films now for over two decades and with two Oscar nominations and been in many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially to make a living. I’m definitely underpaid.”
Hounsou added: “That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly. It’s so deeply inserted in so many things we do across the board. You don’t overcome it. You just sort of have to cope with it and survive the best way you can.”
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This is not the first time Hounsou has spoken out about his pay disparity. In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, the actor said he feels “tremendously cheated” by the industry “in terms of finances and in terms of workload as well.” “I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” he continued. “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’ … Film after film, it’s a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”