Djimon: Africa is my continent. It is where I opened my eyes. The more awareness we can bring to an issue there, the more people will rally the leaders of developed countries to do something about it.
Djimon: At the end of the day, we are all part of this world. Africans love movies from America and elsewhere, but we also love to dream and we have many, many stories to tell.
Djimon: I like light-hearted pictures, too, but I guess I feel a little more comfortable in the more intense, dramatic realm. I'm not sure if I feel like other kinds of stories speak to me.
(on the making of "Blood Diamond") Djimon: Africa just demands so much of you. It didn’t occur to me how challenging and heartbreaking making this movie was going to be. The physicality and emotional content of the story were overwhelming.
(on what interested him about the film "Blood Diamond") Djimon: We made this movie to bring awareness to the trade of diamonds, period. Because people are losing their lives over it.
(on the difficulties black actors have in Hollywood) Djimon: You have to fight and fight for them to think of a role as being black because they've been thinking white, white, white.
(on his Constantine character, Papa Midnite) Djimon: I really thought I saw him as a politician. I saw him as somebody who understood his own limitations and respected others to co-exist. His politics were really not bad. There’s really no negative connotation to it. It’s through his politics really that they are all allowed to co-exist. That’s what creates the bonus for him.
(on what he looks for in a script) Djimon: A good story, pure and simply. Once you have a decent story, you look at your character. Is it somewhat decent? How is it supposed to be played? At this point, I’m always concerned how African Americans are portrayed in films.
(about the film Constantine doing justice to the comic books) Djimon: You sort of have to forget about that and just worry about the story that you're telling, and where you are at in that story. And hope that it does it justice.
Djimon: I haven't had to change my accent to play an American role. First of all, it's difficult for me to do because English is my fifth language. Secondly, there are other actors - African-American actors - who can easily do that without me having to stretch myself to that degree. I don't really care to be the generic African-American actor.
Film Credits: 2006 - Eragon, Ajihad 2006 - Blood Diamond, Solomon Vandy 2005 - The Island, Albert Laurent 2005 - Beauty Shop, Joe 2005 - Constantine, Midnite 2004 - Blueberry, Woodhead 2003 - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Kosa 2003 - Biker Boyz, Motherland 2002 - Heroes, Mystery Man 2002 - In America, Mateo 2002 - The Four Feathers, Abou Fatma 2002 - Boulet, Le, Det. Youssouf 2001 - The Tag, Marshall 2000 - Passage du milieu, Narrator 2000 - Gladiator, Juba 1998 - Deep Rising, Vivo 1997 - Ill Gotten Gains, Fyah 1997 - Amistad, Cinque 1997 - The Small Hours 1994 - Stargate, Horus 1992 - Unlawful Entry, Prisoner on Bench 1990 - Without You I'm Nothing, Ex-Boyfriend
For his role as Cinque in the 1997 film Amistad, Djimon learned to speak a fair bit of Mende (the language of Sierra Leone), as that was the primary language his character spoke.
Djimon lived on the streets of Paris, from the time he was 13, until he became a model after being found by fashion designer Thierry Mugler.
Djimon is 6' 4" (193cm) tall.
Djimon was nominated for a ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture’ award at the 1998 Golden Globes for his role as Cinque in Amistad.
Djimon was nominated for 'Best Supporting Actor' at the 2004 Academy Awards for his role as Mateo in the film In America.
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