Djimon Hounsou to play a South African Cop in ‘Zulu’

Djimon Hounsou

Beninois actor and model Djimon Hounsou has been cast to play a South African policeman in the movie ‘Zulu’.  The movie which will be shot in Cape town, South Africa this July also features Orlando Bloom. Both Hounsou and Bloom will play cops assigned to the murder case  of the 18-year-old daughter of a rugby player.

The film which is based on a novel written by french writer Caryl Férey will be directed by Jérôme Salle. Salle’s last project was ‘The Tourist’. It starred Angelina Jolie and Johny Depp.

Hounsou is most famous for his portrayal of ‘Cinque’ in Spielberg’s adaptation of the Amistad, and most recently he played alongside Leonardo di Caprio in Blood Diamonds. As ‘Salomon Vandy’ in Blood Diamonds, Hounsou was a fisherman forced to work on a diamond mine after being captured by rebels during  Sierra Leone’s  civil war. In 2006 that movie earned him an Oscar nomination,  a National Board of Review Award and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award.