30 Fantastic Facts You Probably Never Knew About Djimon Hounsou

30 March 2019, 11:28 am EDT By Ruby Karnick

Djimon Hounsou, who gained world-wide recognition with his portrayal of Cinqué in the Steven Spielberg film "Amistad," is currently famous for playing the role of Korath the Pursuer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while also playing the role of the Fisherman King in the DC Extended Universe. Here are some little known facts about the Beninese actor:

He is the fourth African actor to have received an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" award, with other being Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway and Omar Sharif.
He claims that he took the role of Korath the Pursuer, just for the sake of his son, as his son loves superheroes from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman.
It was said that one day he son looked at him and said "Dad, I want to be light-skinned so I could be Spider-Man. Spider-Man has light skin." He said that it was a kind of shock to him.
He first moved from Benin to Paris at the age of 13, where he ended as a vagrant - rummaging in trash cans for food and sleeping under bridges, being not able to find a proper job.
However, his life kind of changed from being a vagrant, when he was discovered by the fashion designer Thierry Mugler, who made him a fashion model.
During the filming of the 2014 "Guardians of the Galaxy," costume designer Alexandra Byrne claimed to be flustered while measuring him for his outfit, saying he was so perfectly built that he would make even a beanbag look good on him.
In preparation of his role as Cinque in the 1997 movie "Amistad," he learned the language of Mende. His performance also earned him a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, along with a number of award nominations.
He claims that his costume and make up as Korath the Pursuer in "Guardians of the Galaxy," to have been very uncomfortable and rigid, which he said he channeled into his action sequences.
He started dating his "Beauty Shop" co-star Kimora Lee Simmons, two years after the completion of the movie. The couple has one son together. However, they broke up in the year 2012.
In preparation for his role as Jean Roqua in the 2008 movie "Never Back Down," he underwent intense training under Erik Paulson, a renowned mixed martial artist and shoot fighting champion.

In a fight sequence in the "Never Back Down" movie, it was reported that Sean Faris broke his L3 spinous transverse process, when he body slammed him.
He had initially auditioned for the role of Drax, which went to Dave Bautista, in the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy," but was cast as Korath the Puruser. He said that after seeing how ripped Bautista was, he admitted that Bautista was the perfect choice for the role of Drax.
He was featured as a central African aristocrat in the 2010 "Black Panther" and the 2016 "The Legend of Tarzan." In both the roles, he was dressed up as a leopard.
He replaced Ron Cephas Jones in the role of the Wizard, in the 2019 movie "Shazam!" from the DC Extended Universe, as scheduling conflicts forced Jones to back out of the movie.
In preparation for his voice acting in the "How to Train Your Dragon 2" movie, he would often do vocal exercises, one of which was a loud and terrible scream. Dean DeBlois liked it so much that he decided to use it as Drago's cry to summon his dragons.
He was featured as Mobalage Ikabo, a refugee from Nigeria on "ER." In reality his hometown Benin shares its largest border with Nigeria.
He was featured in the music videos of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" by Janet Jackson, between the year 1989 and 1991.
He made his debut in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film "Without You I'm Nothing," as himself, the role of ex-boyfriend.
In the year 2004, his performance in "In America" movie earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His performance as Solomon Vandy in the movie "Blood Diamond" earned him the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, along with Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award nominations.

In the year 2011, he was featured in a very important role as a Kovax, a French commando in the French film "Forces spéciales."
It was reported that he had signed on to play Abdiel in the film version of John Milton's "Paradise Lost" with Benjamin Walker and Bradley Cooper. However, the movie was scrapped in early February 2012.
He dropped out of school, after immigrating to Lyon in France at the age of twelve with his brother Edmond. It was said that in his childhood days, he learned English by watching television.
Once in an interview with IGN, Director Tim Story that he would like to cast Hounsou as the Black Panther if they were to do a third "Fantastic Four" movie.
It was announced that he would join the cast of the second season of the television series "Wayward Pines," on February 17, 2016.
He was featured as the narrator in ESPN's running series of "32 teams, 1 dream" commercials for the FIFA World Cup, in the year 2010.
He, being represented by Los Angeles modeling agent Omar Albertto, was announced to be the new Calvin Klein underwear model on February 24, 2007.
Hounsou on September 22, 2009, spoke at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations. He told the French media on December 1, 2009, that that developed countries "need to be held accountable" for their contribution to climate change.
In the summer of 2008, he and model Kimora Lee Simmons participated in a traditional commitment ceremony, adorning traditional clothing to solidify that they are "dedicated to each other 100%." The duo emphasized that it was not a wedding.
Hounsou and Simmons announced their separation in November 2012. They have a son Kenzo Lee Hounsou born May 30, 2009.