Education
When he was 12, his parents sent him to live with an older brother in Lyons, France, hoping that he would get an education and become a doctor or lawyer. But Hounsou grew bored with school and instead of going on to university, he took off for Paris where he drifted around for a period of time before being spotted by a fashion photographer who introduced him to clothing designer Thierry Mugler.
Career
Djimon Hounsou arrived in France. He was only 13 years old. But he did not go to school, he began modelling, prompted by his good looks. In 1987, he dropped everything and went to Paris. After weeks of struggling to sleep in the street, he was spotted one morning trying to bathe in the fountain in front of the Pompidou Center. This is the beginning of a fairy-tale. He became a photographer for Thierry Mugler. He also posed for the photo book of Herbert Ritts Men and women, involved in the video of Janet Jackson Love Will Never Do Without You.
He arrived in 1990 at Los Angeles, he had his first role that same year in Without You I'm Nothing, but he didn’t speak English (he already speaks French and several languages: Fon-Gbe, the gun-gbe and Mina), he had some problems before the shooting. Steven Spielberg provided an opportunity to take a leading role, for which Djimon was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
His physical and African roots make him the perfect actor for the role of "tough" or Aboriginal better and smarter than others think: roles of fighter, teammate Russell Crowe in Gladiator (2000), a soldier in Sudan Feathers, biker boys in Biker (2003) and tribal leader in Lara Croft Tomb Raider. He played most recently under the direction of Michael Bay in the action film The Island (2005), as well as Eragon, a fantasy film Heroic, released in 2006, in which he played the leader of a community rebelling against a tyrannical king. He also played in 2006 Blood Diamond, a film by Edward Zwick, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
Views
Djimon Hounsou has a deep respect for the earth and its inhabitants and he uses his influence wherever he can to champion charity causes and highlight the plight of conditions of those living in African countries. He is devoted to his wife and children and these help give him the impetus to continue in his quest for raising public awareness of conditions that can be changed, whether that is by giving money or accepting responsibility and accountability for global emissions causing atmospheric erosion.