By LOUIS B. HOBSON --
NEW YORK -- These days, Djimon Hounsou feels very much at home in Hollywood.
He's received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as the leader of the slave revolt in Steven Spielberg's Amistad.
So powerful is his performance that the buzz in Hollywood is that the 33-year-old actor will receive an Oscar nomination on Feb. 10.
Not bad for a man who 10 years ago was a homeless man in Paris.
"I was living off the streets, washing in fountains and begging for money," recalls Hounsou.
He was born in the West African nation of Benin and moved to Paris when he was 13 in order to get a better education.
"I thought I could make my dreams come true in Paris but things always seemed to work against me."
That was until the day, at 22, that Hounsou was discovered by French fashion designer Thierry Mugler.
"He was looking for a complete unknown to be his new model and he happened to see photos some friends of his had taken of me.
"Thierry met with me and turned me into a model. Overnight I went from being a homeless man to being an international model.
"It's overwhelming, isn't it. There are days I still don't believe all this has happened to me."
What happened was that Hounsou went from being a Paris model to starring in Madonna's Express Yourself video.
"Madonna saw me modelling in Los Angeles and asked me to be in her video. I could still barely speak English at that time so videos were all I could do.
"Madonna is this incredible woman known all over the world and I'm this boy from Africa. It was another step in an incredible journey."
Hounsou also starred in videos for Steve Winwood (Roll With It); Paula Abdul (Straight Up) and Janet Jackson (Love Will Never Do Without You) and then nabbed small roles in such films as Unlawful Entry and Stargate. He thought he'd hit gold when he was cast as an African mercenary in the much-delayed horror film Deep Rising that's now scheduled to open Jan. 30.
Then came the call from Spielberg.
"(Producer) Debbie Allen showed Spielberg the videos I'd done and some audition tapes. He agreed to meet me and eventually offered me the role."
Hounsou finished filming Amistad in May.
He has purposely turned down the roles he has been offered since.
"It will be almost impossible to ever find a role like this again. That's been a big worry for me. Maybe the best thing is just to take another movie and make a big mistake with it. If I choose to live with the shadow of Amistad, I probably will never work again and that's not what I came to America eight years ago to do."
Hounsou lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, actress Victoria Mahoney.
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