Q:
Most actors when they make their film debut are in small
films, but here you are acting alongside Ray Liotta, Andy
Garcia, Jeremy Piven and Ben Affleck, just to say the names
of a few of your co-stars. Did the calibre of co-stars make
you a little nervous?
COMMON: Definitely. Joe Carnahan was really brilliant because
the first day I shot was with Alicia Keys, who also was making
her debut. It allowed us to warm up and do some takes. But,
I got nervous again for my first take with Jeremy, because
he's such a great actor.
Q: You have had such an accomplished music career and now,
with Smokin' Aces, you have begun a new phase with acting.
COMMON: That's why I'm so excited. I have a new light in
my life. New art. It's a fun thing. I find everything about
acting fun and fresh. Everything from making films to even
the acting classes.
Q: So, you're like a kid again?
COMMON: Yeah, just like a kid in many ways because acting
is still new to me.
Q: You have an emotional, heart-wrenching scene in Smokin'
Aces where you confront Jeremy Piven's character about loyalty
and betrayal. It really seemed
to come from your heart. Was it partly improvised?
COMMON: What made me want to be part of this movie was the
quality of Joe Carnahan's writing. But, I was blessed to
being able to partly improvise. Jeremy
likes to improvise too. My nature is to improvise. So we
were allowed the space to do that, which was beautiful for
me.
Q: Have you ever personally experienced betrayal in your
career?
COMMON: Oh yeah. Definitely betrayal. I could relate with
what my character was going through. He didn't receive the
respect he deserved as a human being.
Q: How do you react to betrayal?
COMMON: Me, personally, I'll talk to the person. In Smokin'
Aces, my character, was really trying to see if Buddy Israel
was going to come clean. As the conversation continued, you
could see Buddy was lying.
Q: Jeremy Piven has some pretty amazing scenes where we
see his character on a vicious downward spiral. You were
in a couple of the scenes. What was that like for you to
watch?
COMMON: That was powerful. Jeremy was crying and giving
it in each take.
Q: In one of your scenes with Alicia you have to carry her
down some emergency stairs because she was injured. What
was that like?
COMMON: We did that scene for two days. It was inspiring
because, hey, it was Alicia Keys, and she's beautiful, but
it was also tiring. Inspiring and tiring!
Q: Just watching Smokin' Aces, it looks like the actors
had a great time making it.
COMMON: Oh yeah, we did. We had a ball.
Q: Did you have weapons training to prepare for your role?
COMMON: Yeah, I had an incredible trainer who made sure
I knew how to use the guns. It was fun to learn how to load
and do tricks with the gun.
Q: Did you go to a shooting range to practise?
COMMON: We went to one of the studios where there was a
shooting range where we could shoot and work with these mannequin
type things. We learned a lot of different weapon techniques.
Q: Hey, your gun skills could come in handy one day.
COMMON: Hopefully I won't have to use any of that stuff.
I'll stay peaceful. I'll leave that stuff for the movies.
That's why I love movies because things
you don't do in everyday life you can do in the movies.
Q: Because you are known as a pacifist, your fans might
be surprised when they see you in Smokin' Aces playing a
gangster?
COMMON: That's why I was glad for this role because the
guy I play, Sir Ivy, is a killer. People who know me know
I am a peaceful, progressive, free artist, so
they wouldn't expect to see me play this character.
Q: Did you have to audition for the role or did they offer
it to you straight up?
COMMON: I auditioned twice and it was a process.
Q: What were your auditions like?
COMMON: I went to the casting agent's office and there were
all of these other cats there waiting. I walked in after
they auditioned and gave everything that was
in my heart. Then, I was in Paris and they called me back
and said they were thinking about me, but they were also
looking at other people. I flew back to LA
and went in and auditioned as soon as I landed. This time
it was with Joe Carnahan and I gave it my all.
Q: What was it like for you to go and line up for an audition
with all of these other actors? You are one of the world's
biggest music artists, but here you are standing in line
for a casting agent?
COMMON: I loved it. It was humbling. It's good to know no
matter how popular you get, you're still a child of God,
you're still a person. It was a humbling
experience to go into a casting agent and sign the sheet
just like any other person and wait. You hear the other person
auditioning and you try and be
focused on what you have to do. Then when it's your turn
you go in there and do it like a warrior.
Q: So how do you sign your name at the audition? Common?
COMMON: Yes, Common. Common, baby.
Q: Do you think your popularity in the music world helped
you get the part in Smokin' Aces?
COMMON: No, I think it was an obstacle. They already had
Alicia Keys. One of the producers told me they didn't want
another music artist, but they said I
really brought it at the audition. They had to give me the
part. That's what I want. I want the world to respect me
as an actor.
Q: Will you keep making music?
COMMON: Oh yeah. I have a new album coming out next year.
I've been working with Kanye West.
Q: And you're writing children's books?
COMMON: Yeah, it's fun. I wrote two books and my mom put
them out on her publishing company, Hip Hop Schoolhouse.
They carry a very good message about loving yourself. It's
important to love yourself, you need to know that no matter
how poor you are or what color you are.
Q: Do you still live in Chicago?
COMMON: I pretty much live in LA and New York. Chicago is
my home, but I live out in LA and New York because that is
where the business is I'm working on. I
wouldn't have got the role in Smokin' Aces if I didn't live
in LA, because they wanted the actors to be in LA.
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