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By Veronica Mixon
September 10, 2002
Djimon Hounson has just flown to Philadelphia
after an exciting but hectic visit at the Toronto
Film Festival and he's exhausted. Because he's
also cold, we sit on the terrace of the Four Seasons
Hotel on this warm September day as he talks about
his latest film The Four Feathers.
In the film, Hounson plays Abou Fatma, an African
warrior, who becomes Heather Ledger's friend and
guardian angel as they two trek across the Sahara
Desert in this epic adventure. "When you're acting,
that's really pleasant. Riding a camel is no big
deal because after five minutes down the line,
you're a master. [And] I'm a physical person anyway,"
he confides. "When we're selling the film, that's
where the work is."
Born Djimon Gaston Hounson in Benin, West Africa,
he was sent to Paris to further his education.
The publicity mill says that after living in poverty
on the streets of Paris, Hounson was discovered
first by Thierry Mulgar and then by Madonna. From
homelessness to superstar! He gives me an incredulous
look when I asked him if he ever studied acting
or was it just a natural set up from modeling.
"Of course, I studied - ten years ago! I went
to Los Angeles specifically for that. I learned
through watching people to the point where I could
perform myself. They [the studios] promoted me
in a way that I just came off the boat and I couldn't
speak English.
"I trained as a boxer for many years and I realized
that it wasn't for me. I didn't want to get hurt,"
he laughs.
His appearance in Janet Jackson's video and the
Herb Ritt photographs eventually led to his starring
role in Steven Spielberg's Amistad which
garnered him a Golden Globe nomination and a worldwide
fan base. But, it was his performance opposite
Russell Crowe in the Academy Award winning, Gladiator
that brought him his strongest critical accolades.
Nevertheless, Hounson admits that initially, his
parents weren't too thrilled with his modeling
and acting career. "Obviously, they didn't send
me to Europe so that I could become a dreamer.
That was their understanding of what I was turning
into," he explains. "And, now that I'm making
it, they enjoy it."
These days Hounson spends little time in Los
Angeles. He's currently making a Biker Boyz
with Lawrence Fishburne. Then, he'll costar opposite
Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider II.
And, he's also awaiting the release of two other
movies: Jim Sheridan's In America where
he plays a contemporary artist who befriends an
Irish family and the cowboy movie, Blueberry
which he has a cameo. He's also shed any fears
of being typecast as the African. " We tend to
look at it negatively. But the reality is that
it takes time to build the career that you want
and people are thinking of you positively. I wanted
to be offered other things and I still do."
There is another important fact that rarely goes
unnoticed. The 38-year-old actor is still an eligible
bachelor. "It is hard when you're running around
and you don't even have that much time for yourself.
Then you try to date someone who hardly ever sees
you," he says with a weary smile. "They have to
have a life of their own because if they fly around
with you, then they are living your life. And,
you don't want that either."
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