Some believe that glitz and glamor run Hollywood, but Djimon Hounsou will tell you differently. The How To Train Your Dragon 2 actor recently told Blackcelebkids.com and other media that his son, Kenzo, was the driving force who inspired him to take part in a children’s film.
“Having a son, you want to keep your legacy going, and to be a part of [an] animated feature is quite important,” said the star during a recent press conference. Djimon added, “The first [How To Train Your Dragon movie that] I saw, I saw with my son. I never dreamed about there being a second one.”
Hounsou is the central antagonist in the second installment of the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy. The actor goes by the name of Drago Bludvist in the film, and seeks to destroy everyone who refuses to partner with him in his quest to control the dragons. Many were surprised at Drago’s scary voice since the film is intended for children under the age of 13-years-old. “With a name like Drago Bludvist…You certainly cannot limit yourself as far as how much you get into it with a character like that [just] because you’re dealing with kids,” explained the star. “You have to stay with that. You can’t polish and tone down just because you’re doing a film with kids.”
Djimon certainly did not polish or tone down in terms of being the evil villain, as his character is one of the most vile characters a children’s film has seen in a while. Not since Scar in Disney’s The Lion King has the Big screen seen such heartlessness in animation.
Drago can be viewed as the outcast in How To Train Your Dragon 2. He comes to warn Stoick the Vast and other Vikings that dragons need tight restraints, but everyone laughs at him. Upon telling the group of rulers to fend for themselves, Drago releases several vicious dragons on the meeting and everyone except Stoick is killed.
Decades later, Hiccup, Stoick’s son, decides to go on an adventure outside of Berk with his girlfriend Astrid. The two inquisitive youth come upon a few dragon catchers who accuse Hiccup and Astrid of destroying their boat and stealing the few dragons they managed to capture for Drago. Unaware of who Drago is, Hiccup returns to his native land and informs his father of the conversation he had with the catcher. Fully knowledgeable of what the outcast is capable of doing, Stoick orders the entire village of Berk to be locked down until further notice. The chief of the land tells his son to obey orders, but Hiccup believes that he can reason with Drago.
During his efforts to find the true villain, Hiccup runs into who he thinks is an enemy. The young adult and his dragon, Toothless, approach with caution and soon learn that the scary person wearing the mask is actually Hiccup’s long lost mom, Valka. All the residents of Berk assumed that she was killed by a dragon decades ago but, as it turns out, she has been training the creatures in a secret hideaway. Hiccup explains to his mom that everything has changed in Berk since he convinced his father that dragons can be tamed (as demonstrated in How To Train Your Dragon), and Valka asks her son for another chance at being the parent she never had the chance to be.
Concerned that his son may be in terrible danger, Stoick searches high and low for Hiccup before finding him with his mom. It seems as though the Chief and his family will be one again, and then Drago comes to wage war. The villain brings the biggest dragon called “The Alpha” to fight against “The Alpha” that Valka has been rearing, and the battle is on.
Drago’s “Alpha” beats out Valka’s dragon, and then takes command of all of the dragons, including Toothless. At the command of Drago and the new “Alpha” in charge, Toothless turns on Hiccup and draws near to kill him. Just when the once friendly beast gets ready to hurl a ball of fire at his master, Stoick jumps in between and is fatally wounded.
Infuriated with his dragon, Hiccup tells Toothless to “get out of here” and the beast goes with Drago and the “Alpha.” Hiccup’s only hope of regaining control of the dragons lies in the baby species who cannot be controlled by the “Alpha.” The now-Chief of Berk, following his father’s death, saddles up on a baby dragon and takes command. He eventually woos his dragon back with tender loving care, and then Toothless challenges the “Alpha” in an effort to protect his master. Such act causes the other dragons to come out of their daze and fight back. After being overpowered and outnumbered by the masses, the “Alpha” returns to the sea from whence he came.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 premieres on June 13, 2014. Djimon Hounsou has one child, Kenzo, with Kimora Lee Simmons. The actor will be featured as a killing machine in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film.
