
Djimon Hounsou
Explore the best Djimon Hounsou movies ranked by Movie Rankings users. The current highest-ranked actor credit here is Gladiator. Browse 6 ranked credits, plus biography and full filmography.
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos, made his film debut in Without You I'm Nothing and earned widespread recognition for his role as Cinqué in the Steven Spielberg film Amistad. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Hounsou became a naturalized American citizen in 2007. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a dual citizen of both Benin and the United States, effectively rendering him a Beninese-American. Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, in 1964, to lbertine and Pierre Hounsou. He immigrated to Lyon in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond. In 1987, he became a model and established a career in Paris. He moved to the U.S. in 1990. One year before obtaining his college degree, he dropped out of school. In 1989, he appeared in a music video of Straight Up by Paula Abdul. Hounsou's film debut was in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing, and he has had television roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and ER and a guest starring role on Alias, but received a larger role in the science fiction film Stargate. His first on-screen appearance was in the 1990 Janet Jackson video “Love Will Never Do (Without You).” He also starred in a 2002 Gap commercial directed by Peter Lindbergh, dancing to a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" by Arrested Development's Baba Oje. He received wide critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Cinqué in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad. He gained further notice as Juba, in the 2000 film Gladiator. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for In America, in 2004, becoming the fourth African male to be nominated for an Oscar (along with Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway and Omar Sharif). In 2006, he won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond; he received Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award nominations for this performance. In 2007, Hounsou began dating model/CEO of Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Simmons. In 2008 Hounsou and Simmons visited Hounsou's family and while there, the two participated in a traditional commitment ceremony. On May 30, 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named because Kenzo means 3 (Kimora's third child).
Top Ranked Credits (6)
What is the best Djimon Hounsou movie?
Gladiator is currently the highest-ranked Djimon Hounsou movie on Movie Rankings based on aggregate head-to-head results from the community.
How many Djimon Hounsou movies are ranked here?
This page currently tracks 6 ranked credits connected to Djimon Hounsou.
How often do Djimon Hounsou rankings update?
These rankings refresh whenever Movie Rankings recomputes global results. This page was last generated from site data on May 4, 2026.
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Best English Action Movies of 2000
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Best English Action Movies
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Best English Drama Movies of 2000
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Best English Drama Movies
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Best English Adventure Movies of 2000
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Best English Adventure Movies
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Best English Movies of 2000
See how Gladiator compares with other top-ranked english movies from 2000.
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Last refreshed from site data on May 4, 2026.














































































