About Me
THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS...I repeat...this is not the real actors page, only a page operated by a fan. THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDINGBirth name
Djimon Gaston HounsouHeight
6' 2" (1.88 m)Mini biography
Djimon originated from Africa and has graced the catwalks of Paris and London as a popular male model.Trivia
Name pronounced Jie-mon Hahn-soo.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. Things changed for the better when fashion designer Thierry Mugler discovered him and made him a fashion model.Was in Janet Jackson video "Love Will Never Do Without You" (1992)In "ER" (1994) he played Mobalage Ikabo, a refugee from Nigeria. His actual homeland of Benin shares its largest border with Nigeria.Born on the same day as actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer.Second male African to receive an Oscar-nomination.Personal quotes
"School bored me. Being educated and being intelligent are two different things. I thought I was smart enough. And I wanted to be an entertainer. I stopped going to school as a way of saying I was mature, a way of saying I was going to choose who I was going to become." --Daily News, December 3, 1997"America has this understanding of Africans that plays like National Geographic: a bunch of Negroes with loincloths running around the plain fields of Africa chasing gazelles. Meanwhile, we have Africans and African-Americans, contemporary men, with great stories, great integrity, great heroes and nobody wants to see or hear about those African heroes and those African-American heroes. One day, I will be in a position to play those great human beings on-screen."Born in Cotonou, Benin on April 24, 1964, Djimon Gaston Hounsou emigrated from West Africa to Paris at the age of 13 with his brother Edmund. Homeless, the strikingly-handsome 6'4" hunk led a hand-to-mouth existence, till he was discovered by French fashion designer Thierry Mugler who hired him as a runway model.After spending time strutting up catwalks all across Europe, Djimon made his way to Hollywood to take a shot at showbiz. He first found work in music videos, appearing in everything from Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" to Madonna's "Express Yourself". His big break came in 1997 when Steven Spielberg cast him in Amistad as Cinque, the lion-hearted, slave revolt leader.Djimon subsequently received critical acclaim for his work with Russell Crowe in Gladiator and then opposite Kate Hudson in The Four Feathers before landing Academy Award nominations for In America ad Blood Diamond. The versatile thespian has also appeared in Eragon, Biker Boyz, Tomb Raider 2, Constantine, Beauty Shop and The Island.Last year, Djimon returned to modeling, showing off his hot chocolate bod in Calvin Klein's international underwear campaign. Apparently, someone does get between him and his Calvins, however, since for the first time in his career, Hounsou has been landing in the tabloids, all because he's been romantically linked to Kimora Lee Simmons, President of Baby Fat Fashions and ex-wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Despite rumors that Kimora might be pregnant with little Djimon, Jr., the couple were not yet ready to make an announcement at the recent premiere of Djimon's new picture, Never Back Down.KW: Hey, Djimon, thanks for the time.DH: Absolutely, thank you. How you been?KW: Great. I don't know if you remember the first time we spoke, but my son knew where Benin was, and you told him he was a very bright boy.DH: Oh, yeah, that's right. How's he doing?KW: He's doing very well, thanks. He's a freshman at Princeton University.DH: See, he is very smart.KW: Thanks. What interested you in playing this character, Jean Roqua, in Never Back Down?DH: If anything, my love of the sport. That was my special attraction to the story. Beyond that, the challenge of portraying Roqua who had some demons that he needed to face and deal with. Plus, I liked his relationship with the young men and women coming of age who were having a hard time dealing with their own issues and trying to overcome them.KW: I was really pleasantly surprised by this film. Going in, I was expecting it to be just a remake of The Karate Kid, but it really stands on its own. Plus, as usual, you bring a certain presence to the film that elevates the whole production.DH: Well, like I said, started with my love of mixed martial arts. I was hoping that I would come across a venue with that as a theme. Then, the producers sat down with me and convinced me that it would be a great story.KW: So, was your love of martial arts as a fan or as a participant?DH: Well, it was mostly as a fan that I was drawn to the project, but I'd also taken classes. So, I already had a great affinity for the sport.KW: What did you have to do in preparation for the role?DH: A lot of training, obviously. There was so much that I had to learn about the sport. One of the things that came in handy was the fact that I had studied kung fu and boxing for so many years while growing up in France. When I came to America, I didn't really pursue them as heavily, but I definitely continued to appreciate a whole new aspect of the sport, which was mixed martial arts.KW: I knew you'd been a model in France, but I never knew you studied martial arts?DH: Yes, I did. Even while modeling, I was still practicing kung fu, and boxing, as sports.KW: Was there anyone that you based Jean Roqua on?DH: There's a certain spirituality that comes as a result of practicing the sport for a long time. What I was looking for was certainly someone with the right demeanor. So, I watched Royce Gracie and the Gracie family. The Gracies were known to be the best in Jiu-Jitsu, especially in mixed martial arts. That name resonates with anybody who knows about mixed martial arts. Royce is the man, because of his understanding of the forces of nature, the spirituality, and the mental discipline that comes as a result of needing to survive this training.KW: What sort of diet, exercise regimen and spiritual path do you follow?DH: Meditation, mostly. The work that we do, you really need to keep yourself centered while you're in the process of it. It's very difficult.KW: I can imagine, especially because you're always on the road, living in trailers for long stretches at a time, and not always having access to the healthiest of food.DH: Yeah, plus you're going back and forth between movie sets, and having whole new groups of people that you're dealing with on a daily basis. It may seem glamorous, but it's really hard to remain centered when you're hopping from place to place. It's very challenging.KW: I see you've recently returned to modeling for Calvin Klein.DH: [Chuckles] Why not? If anything, Calvin Klein is the iconic company in terms of fashion. They do have iconic images for their campaigns. They shot it so beautifully.KW: When is your next film, Push, coming out?DH: I actually just wrapped Push. But that has so many special effects, that I think there will be quite a bit of time before it's released.KW: You and Kimora looked like quite the loving couple at the Never Back Down premiere. Are you planning to pop the question any time soon?DH: Uh, well, you know, she's the best candidate. So, eventually, yeah.KW: Congratulations! Would you describe yourself as happy?DH: Yes, very fulfilled.KW: I call that the Columbus Short question, because he told me that no interviewer ever asks him that.DH: Yes, no one does, actually. Yes, I am happy, and I have many reasons to be extra-happy nowadays. Life is calm, and the career is good and taking its course. And things are moving, things are moving ahead.KW: Is there any question that nobody ever asks you, that you wish someone would?DH: [Laughs] Yeah, I remember that question. You've asked me that before. You've caught me off-guard again.KW: What message do you want people to come away with from Never Back Down?DH: That we all have our issues, that no one gets away from facing their own issues, so that we can advance. Nothing is given lightly, and everything has a repercussion, as you're evolving. And, if anything, the sport itself is a great training, not only physically, but the mental discipline that it requires. The gym can serve as an excellent place where kids, and young men and women can really empty their issues right on the floor. It's amazing the spirituality that you get as a result of practicing and enjoying the sport. That's another plus.KW: Well, thanks again for the interview, Djimon. I really appreciate it.DH: You're most welcome. I want to know what's going on with your son. Don't forget to remind me next time, okay?KW: Absolutely, best of luck with the film, your family, and all your endeavors.DH: Thank you very much, sir. Until the next time. Take care.PLEASE CHECK OUT THE URL BELOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON THE MOVIE "AMISTAD" which he portrayed Joseph Cinquehttp://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/9559/amista
d.htmIOR IN A BRIEF PARAGRAPH:
In 1839, Africans being carried aboard La Amistad from Havana were led by fellow captive Joseph Cinqué in a revolt against their captors. Their transport from Africa to the Americas was illegal, and they were fraudulently described as having been born in Cuba. After the revolt, the Africans demanded to be returned home, but the ship’s navigator deceived them about their course, and sailed them north along the North American coast to Long Island, New York. The schooner was subsequently taken into custody by the United States Navy; and the Africans, who were deemed salvage from the vessel, were taken to Connecticut to be sold as slaves. There ensued a widely publicized court case about the ship and the legal status of the African captives. This incident figured prominently in abolitionism in the United States.
Strictly speaking, La Amistad was not a slave ship in the sense that she was not designed to transport slaves, nor did she engage in the Middle Passage of Africans to the Americas. La Amistad engaged in shorter, coastal trade. The primary cargo carried by La Amistad was sugar-industry products, and her normal route ran from Havana to her home port, Guanaja. She also took on passengers and, on occasion, slaves for transport. The captives that La Amistad carried during the incident had been illegally transported to Cuba aboard the slave ship Tecora.
True slave ships, such as Tecora, were designed for the purpose of carrying as many slaves as possible. One distinguishing feature was the half-height between decks, which allowed slaves to be chained down in a sitting or lying position, but which were not high enough to stand in, and thus were not suitable for any other cargo. The crew of La Amistad, lacking the slave quarters, placed half the 53 captives in the hold, and the other half on deck. The captives were relatively free to move about, and this freedom of movement aided their revolt and commandeering of the vessel.WHAT HIS LASTEST MOVIE IS ABOUT: BLOOD DIAMONDAn ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. This movie is directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact. /
