- Djimon Hounsou said it's still difficult for him to get paid his worth in Hollywood.
- The "Gladiator" star spoke to Business Insider at the UK premiere of "Rebel Moon" last week.
Djimon Hounsou says he's struggling to get paid his worth in Hollywood.
In March, the "Gladiator" star told the Guardian that despite his impressive résumé — including roles in "Amistad" and "Blood Diamond" — he is "still struggling to try to make a dollar."
Hounsou can next be seen in Zack Snyder's science-fiction epic, "Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child Of Fire," on Netflix.
Speaking to Business Insider at the movie's London premiere last week, Hounsou said that little has changed since March — even after the lengthy SAG-AFTRA strike earlier this year.
"It's still a struggle. I'll leave it at that. It's still a struggle for sure," he said.
Hounsou previously said that he still feels the need to prove his value to Hollywood decision-makers, despite his decades-long career.
"I still have to prove why I need to get paid," he told the Guardian in March. "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.'"
"Viola Davis said it beautifully: she's won an Oscar, she's won an Emmy, she's won a Tony and she still can't get paid," Hounsou continued. "Film after film, it's a struggle. I have yet to meet the film that paid me fairly."
Hounsou's latest remarks come after the acting union SAG-AFTRA ended its months-long strike over minimum pay, streaming service residuals, and the use of artificial intelligence, in November.
The union ratified its new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Disney, Netflix, and other major Hollywood studios and streamers, last week. The deal includes $1 billion in new compensation for actors.
At Thursday's "Rebel Moon" premiere, Hounsou also opened up about his grueling training regime for the new Zack Snyder movie.
Snyder provided an on-set gym for the cast, which also includes Sofia Boutella and Charlie Hunnam, to stay in shape while shooting.
"It was a lot of hard work and little that I knew that Zack Snyder's films came with a certain level of military training," said Hounsou. "And so in that respect, early on, some of the members did not really want to train but in the end, we all felt like it was quite instrumental to do the training for the film."
"To see each other training for the film day in and day out, that brought a certain strong connection between the characters, which I think really helped," added the Oscar-nominated actor.
"Rebel Moon" streams on Netflix from December 21.