Djimon Hounsou

Djimon Gaston Hounsou ( ; born April 24, 1964)  is a ese actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two s. He has portrayed Horus in the 1994 feature film,.

Early life
Djimon Hounsou was born in, , in 1964, to Albertine and Pierre Hounsou, a cook. He emigrated to in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond. Soon after arriving in France, Hounsou dropped out of school and became homeless for a time. A chance meeting with a photographer led to Hounsou being introduced to fashion designer, who encouraged Hounsou to pursue a modeling career. In 1987, Hounsou became a model and established a career in Paris. He moved to the United States in 1990.

Acting
In 1989 and 1991, Hounsou appeared in the music videos for "" by and "" by.

Hounsou's film debut was in the 1990 film . He had television parts on ' and ' and a guest starring role on . Hounsou received a larger role in the science fiction film Stargate.

Hounsou received wide critical acclaim and a nomination for his role as  in the 1997  film . He gained further notice as Juba in the 2000 film . In 2004, Hounsou was nominated for the for , making him the fourth African male to be nominated for an Oscar. That same year,, a South African actress, was nominated for Best Actress and won for her work in , and was the first time that one African man and one African woman were nominated for an Oscar in the same year. In 2006, he won the Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ; he received, , and  nominations for this performance.

Hounsou also acted in a supporting role in the 2009 science fiction film, as Agent Henry Carver.

In 2011, he starred as a French commando in the French film .

Director told  that if he were to do a third  movie, he would like to have Hounsou as the. In November 2008, it was announced that Hounsou would be providing the voice of the Black Panther in the. Housnou has signed on to play Abdiel in the film version of 's with  and.

Modeling
On February 24, 2007, it was announced that Hounsou would be the new Calvin Klein underwear model. Starting with the fall 2007 season, he was featured in the brand’s global print advertising campaign including the launch of their new Calvin Klein Steel product line.

Other work
In 2010, Hounsou was featured as the narrator in ESPN's running series of "32 teams, 1 dream" commercials for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Hounsou spoke at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations on Tuesday, September 22, 2009. On Tuesday, December 1, 2009, Hounsou told French media that developed countries “need to be held accountable” for their contribution to climate change.

Personal life
Hounsou became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005, and currently resides in Los Angeles. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a of both  and the United States.

In 2007, Hounsou began dating model. On May 30, 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named because "Kenzo" means "three" (Kimora's third child). Hounsou and Simmons visited Hounsou's family in his native Benin in the summer of 2008, where the two participated in a traditional commitment ceremony. The couple were adorned in traditional clothing and used the ceremony, in the presence of Hounsou's family, to solidify that they are "dedicated to each other 100%." The two, however, emphasized that the ceremony was not a wedding. In the début of Kimora Lee Simmons' show, "Life in the Fab Lane", he was billed as her husband. Hounsou and Simmons, who were never legally married in the United States, announced their separation in November 2012.

Actor

 * Horus, as Djimon