Meet Djimon Hounsou via Zoom and attend the world premiere of The King's Man in London on Monday, December 6, 2021 at Leicester Square.
About The King's Man: One man must race against time to stop history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds as they get together to plot a war that could wipe out millions of people and destroy humanity.
Djimon Hounsou received Academy Award-nominations for his work in Ed Zwick’s Blood Diamond (2006) and Jim Sheridan’s In America (2002). He most recently appeared in John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place 2 (2021) and co-stars at the end of the year in Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man.
Born in Benin, West Africa, Hounsou moved to Paris at the age of 13 to pursue a Western education. As an adult, he was discovered by designer Thierry Mugler and subsequently modeled for and appeared in several iconic music videos for Herb Ritts and David Fincher.
Small acting roles followed before Hounsou’s breakthrough performance as an African who leads an uprising to regain his freedom in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997). In 2000, he shared a SAG Award nomination with the cast of Ridley Scott’s Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Gladiator (2000). Hounsou’s film credits also include 2023’s
Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Charlie’s Angels (2019), Shazam! (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword (2017), The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), The Tempest (2010), The Island (2005), Constantine (2005), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), and The Four Feathers (2002). Through Fanaticus, his production company devoted to promoting stories of Africa, Hounsou recently directed the documentary In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven (2018).
In 2009, Hounsou opened the UN General Assembly with a speech about the impact of climate change on developing nations. He has also appeared before the US Senate on behalf of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and participated in a hearing and summit for the International Arms Ban Treaty. On December 2, 2019, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, he announced the formation of the Djimon Hounsou Foundation (DHF) at the United Nations in New York City. Hounsou’s nonprofit, which is based in California, aims to reconnect the African Diaspora with the motherland and combat Modern-Day Slavery & Human Trafficking.