Djimon Hounsou: Hunky Handyman

Say you've bought a beauty shop; a real fixer-upper. There's a big hole in the ceiling. To the rescue with a tool belt comes Joe, the hunk who lives upstairs. He's handy..in a lot of ways, and he plays a mean piano too! Djimon Hounsou of Amistad, Four Feathers, In America and Constantine among other films, plays Joe, the object of desire for a whole beauty shop full of women.

It's Beauty Shop headliner Queen Latifah who gives Djimon his first screen kiss! We always knew he was romantic leading man material but now we're certain. How does the ex-model from France feel about that? He's ready for more. The handsome actor thinks Latifah is "quite a woman".

We got to talk with Djimon (pronounced by most people as Jyman) in a hotel right off Rodeo Drive recently. His very dark green velvet jacket and buff frame were the only reminders of his model days. The actor told us about co-starring with a bevy of beauties and how much fun it is to play villains as well as romantic hotties. Pull up a chair and read on....

TeenHollywood: We hear that, at first, you wondered why in the world you were being offered a role in a movie called Beauty Shop.

Djimon: Well, yeah, truthfully I did. I wasn't quite sure... Beauty Shop? But, after knowing how they were going about it, and given the fact that it's also a beautiful ensemble cast, I think that in itself was appealing. [The beauty shop] is the melting pot of what America is today.

TeenHollywood: How was it being the guy basically with all those ladies? Was it crazy or was it great for you?

Djimon: It was great, however you look at it. It was pleasant going to the set every day knowing that you were going to have so many beautiful women. But not only that, they were just some of the best at cracking jokes so it was a delight to go to the set.

TeenHollywood: And working with Queen, how was that?

Djimon: (gets a far-away look in his eye..remembering?) And working with Queen, and having my first kiss on screen with the Queen. Yeah, that was my first kiss on screen. So that was quite rewarding. She's an attractive woman, and such a great kisser as well.

TeenHollywood: Did the director Billie ask you to do anything that you didn't want to do?

Djimon: No, there wasn't anything that provocative, anything strange about the making of this. It's probably the most delightful movie set that I've been on in a long time.

TeenHollywood: Are you open to doing anything in a film?

Djimon: Sometimes you do have to draw the line somewhere, and sometimes it may have to do with some nudity Some things are not appropriate, and people just write it in stories so they can shock, so it can be controversial, so people can have their attention drawn to the project. Some things are written in stories that don't really need to be there.

TeenHollywood: You're known for playing heavy, dramatic roles. Did you purposely look for something that's lighter?

Djimon: Most definitely.. That was a career move to try to do a lighthearted picture. Also being seen under a different light, instead of being only in pictures with so much heavy content, which I'm more accustomed to do. I enjoy doing them but I'm hoping to have more like this. This is a first for me.

TeenHollywood: Had you ever crossed the threshold of a beauty shop in your life before?

Djimon: Yeah, being a model for so many years, and certainly coming from France, I've been around that.

TeenHollywood: Do you find that the gossip is the same all over?

Djimon: Pretty much, yes, whether it's been here or France or Africa, it's pretty much the same.

TeenHollywood: You had a lovely relationship with the little girl in this, and with Queen Latifah – did you hang around the set a lot to get to know them or did it just come because you're a good actor?

Djimon: It's not so much being a good actor, I think if you leave yourself alone and not really expect so much to happen with kids, things just happen. It wasn't so much that I was hanging around Latifah. Of course I had to get acquainted with her, but my time being on the set was enough to make the magic happen.

TeenHollywood: Joe is a composer. Do you play piano at all?

Djimon: No, I've only taken lessons for this, for particularly making this. I took lessons to learn how to fake it better. I didn't keep it up. You do have to practice on a daily basis, and it requires a totally different mindset and muscle that you do have to train.

TeenHollywood: How handy are you as an electrician and carpenter like your character, can you fix anything?

Djimon: I can fix quite a few things; I'm in the process of rebuilding my own home, so obviously it's quite a bit a work.

TeenHollywood: So you're doing a lot of the wall work and the electrician stuff?

Djimon: No, no, no, no. Not that much, because I don't want to ruin my place either, so I let the professional do it. Just little things like hanging things around, gluing things and making sure things work.

TeenHollywood: When you go back to France, what do you miss about America and vice versa?

Djimon: What I miss most about France first of all is France itself and also the ability to be in the environment in which I grew up, speaking French, and the food. They serve your breakfast in the morning, all the croissants, chocolate croissants (we're drooling). When I'm there, I think I miss the space and the weather and the luxury that we have living in America, and how nice people are really.

TeenHollywood: Have you set up your own production company to develop scripts, maybe more romantic lead stuff?

Djimon: I have. I'm just not ready to show anything yet. Everything's in development stage. I have a business partner and we both have to live; eat on a daily basis and clothe ourselves. So we have to go away regularly to work and come back to it. That's why it's taking so much time.

TeenHollywood: Do you ever watch romantic comedies yourself?

Djimon: Yes, (he sounds unsure) I have. it's just been so long. You just are making me think about it now.

TeenHollywood: You and Queen are a different kind of pairing than we often see in a romantic comedy.

Djimon: True. I think it has more to do with how we get pigeon-holed into certain roles because you're used to being seen in a certain fashion. I'm sure if you ask Drew Barrymore she would love to do something else other other than just being a romantic leading lady for the most part. I think it has to do with the way you are viewed by people in general in Hollywood, and whether Hollywood is going to give you the chance to be a romantic man or woman.

TeenHollywood: Can you talk a little bit more about Queen Latifah and what makes her special? She's also producer on this film. She seems like a bundle of energy.

Djimon: She's so much of a woman, but if anything it's the way she takes care of people in general. The way she goes about her business, and the way she cares about people whether you're one of the crew members or an actor on the job. Actually, it never occurred to me that she was a producer on the set, it's only now that I say, 'Oh that's right, it is her picture. But with so much grace she navigates, she commands so much respect. I have so much love for the lady.

TeenHollywood: Having been a model, do you get to weigh in on your costuming in some films or do you care?

Djimon: When you're a novice and you're starting, you don't know whether you should say something [about your costume] or not. You start to learn that some days they [costumes] don't feel right, then you shouldn't wear them and speak up because it's certainly not going to help you evolve in your role.

TeenHollywood: When you're kicking back, what do you do for fun?

Djimon: A lot of times I love riding motorcycles, taking off and stopping when I want to stop. I love that. I have friends that I ride with. No, not a gang, we're all just like very harmless, we're all in the business, nobody really wants any trouble.

TeenHollywood: Do you think this movie is going to make you a sex symbol?

Djimon: I hope so, because it does change your status in Hollywood.

TeenHollywood: But you knew you were a sex symbol already.

Djimon: (grinning) Pardon me, I didn't hear that. (He's joking, wants to hear it again). Being a sex symbol, that connotation goes hand-in-hand with being able to carry movies. When women and men and children go and see and buy tickets for your movies, that's important in Hollywood. Definitely that's what it will take.

TeenHollywood: Before modeling and acting, what was the worst job you ever had?

Djimon: In France, I cleaned dishes in a restaurant for just a couple of months. From that point on it was difficult for me to eat in a restaurant where I couldn't see the kitchen for a long time.

TeenHollywood: Are you extra nice now when you go to restaurants?

Djimon: Extremely nice. The last thing I want to do is piss somebody off and they go behind and spit in your food and so forth. You're not aware of things, it's unfortunate, some people are just mean.

TeenHollywood: Let's talk about some of your other roles. Would you be interested in returning to your Papa Midnight character in Constantine?

Djimon: Most definitely. I think that character is an entity that needs to be developed a little more. They're probably thinking about it but that particular story needs to be quite lucrative for them as well before they can even think about anything else. I hope they think that way.

TeenHollywood: You wore some kick-butt pimp garb in that movie. Did you keep any of it?

Djimon: Yeah, I got the hat and I think I have the shoes as well.

TeenHollywood: Can you talk a little about The Island, are you still shooting that?

Djimon: No, I just finished. It was directed by Michael Bay and Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson star in it. It's a science fiction thriller about cloning. It's cool. A couple of friends of mine just sent me text messages saying that they saw the trailer and it looks really good, so I'm looking forward to that.

TeenHollywood: One of the roles that we saw you in last year was the villain in "Alias", and you seemed to have such a good time. Is there something really fun about playing these evil guys?

Djimon: It is so much fun to play bad guys because you have no limitation, you can take it to the top. If I'm playing a nice guy, there's not too many places you can go with that. It definitely gives you such a freedom to explore, even within yourself, especially given the condition of the setting. Hey, we all can turn, we all can snap and turn mean.

But, not in Beauty Shop. He's just sweet, gorgeous Joe.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.