About Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Gaston Hounsou ( JY-mən OON-soo; French: [dʒimɔ̃ unsu]; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor. He began his career appearing in music videos and made his film debut in Without You I'm Nothing (1990). He then earned widespread recognition for his role as Cinqué in the Steven Spielberg film Amistad (1997), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. For his performances in In America (2002) and Blood Diamond (2006), Hounsou was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he portrays Korath the Pursuer in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Captain Marvel (2019) and What If...? (2021). In the DC Extended Universe, he appears as the Fisherman King in Aquaman (2018) and as the wizard Shazam in Shazam! (2019), Black Adam (2022) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). His other notable films include Stargate (1994), Gladiator (2000), Constantine, The Island (both 2005), Special Forces (2011), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), Furious 7 (2015), The Legend of Tarzan (2016), A Quiet Place Part II (2021), Gran Turismo, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (both 2023), Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver and A Quiet Place: Day One (both 2024). Hounsou made his directorial debut with the documentary film In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven (2018). In 2024, Hounsou had a guest performance on South African record producer and DJ Black Coffee's "Ode to Ancestors" song which was included in an EP inspired by Zack Snyder's movie, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. He played villains in two 2015 films: Seventh Son and Furious 7, the latter being the seventh installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise. For his performances in America (2002) and Blood Diamond (2006), Hounsou was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.