TERMINATOR SALVATION's Common Talks Sense To Mr. Beaks!

Ever since he dropped CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? in 1992 at the precocious age of twenty, Common (formerly Common Sense) has been one of the most dependably innovative voices in hip-hop. With the Chicago native's first LP, he affected a sing-songy delivery and incorporated well-chosen samples from funk/soul classics that would later turn up on bigger hits (most notably The Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets", which powered "Breaker 1/9" a good two years before it turned up on B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa"); that all changed with his 1994 LP, RESURRECTION, on which he hit back at the thriving gangsta rap genre that was drowning out the medium's more thoughtful artists and, perhaps, threatening to destroy the art form altogether. His principled stand resulted in a nasty back-and-forth with Ice Cube's Westside Connection; it may have also played a part in guiding listeners to the more socially conscious sounds of artists like Lauryn Hill (who appeared on Common's third album, ONE DAY IT'LL ALL MAKE SENSE), The Roots and Black Star. While Common continued to evolve as an emcee, he quietly started trying his hand at acting on sitcoms like ONE ON ONE and GIRLFRIENDS. What seemed at first like a dalliance turned into a second career when he took a pivotal role in Joe Carnahan's ensemble shoot-em-up SMOKIN' ACES. This led to memorable tough-guy turns in AMERICAN GANGSTER, STREET KINGS and WANTED - which seemed completely at odds with Common's pacifistic off-screen persona, but that's why they call it acting. Common definitely gets a bump in screen time as John Connor's loyal right-hand man Barnes in TERMINATOR SALVATION. It's not a flashy role, but Common is damn effective as a survivor who'd rather shoot first and skip the questions altogether. It's a good, glowering warm-up for THE A-TEAM, in which Common may play the van-driving, afraid-of-flying badass B.A. Baracus. This will reunite Common with Carnahan (who's probably gotten the most out of him as an actor thus far), and, provided he doesn't sully the immaculate name of Mr. T, give him his first shot at stardom. Unfortunately, the B.A. news hadn't broken when I talked with Common a couple of weeks ago. But we did have a rather interesting conversation about his acting aspirations and how they complement his recording career (which, at this point, he has no intention of abandoning). Hope you enjoy...

Mr. Beaks: Were you a big fan of THE TERMINATOR when you were younger?

Common: You know, I liked THE TERMINATOR. I wasn't like a crazy fanatic over it; I wasn't wearing the "I'll be back" t-shirts and stuff like that. I definitely thought the movies were good, but I honestly appreciated them more when I went back and watched them again recently.

Beaks: I think the first one has worn especially well over the years. The first two are definitely rewarding.

Common: They are rewarding. And that's the thing: when you make art, you want it to be something that can last throughout time, that can sustain and be able to reach other generations. It's a great thing. I know at some point in life, my daughter will see THE TERMINATOR 1 and 2.

Beaks: Speaking of being younger, what were your career aspirations way back then? When you first found success as an emcee, were you thinking about acting at all?

Common: As a kid, I wanted to be a basketball player. (Laughs) I loved sports at that time. But then at some point it became about being a star - whether inspired by Michael Jackson or Eddie Murphy or whomever it was. I looked up to people who were at that level of celebrity. It was about being something that could shine on the world in a way. And then I realized, too, as I matured and evolved, that a star shining on the world is greater than any type of entertainment or profession. You can definitely inspire people, and make people smile and laugh, and heal people through art; it's a very powerful tool. But shining on the word is like going out and doing great things and helping individuals and spreading the word of God. (Laughs) I didn't mean to get too deep on you with TERMINATOR.

Beaks: No, that's cool. Tying that into TERMINATOR: SALVATION, there's something to be said for a movie that's there to help people take their minds off their troubles for a couple of hours.

Common: Man, I recognize that aspect even more. Just having fun and taking your mind off of the economy or marital problems or whatever health issues you might have - entertainment can be healing in those ways.

Beaks: Let's talk about Barnes. This guy's basically the pit bull of John Connor's outfit.

Common: There wasn't much written about Barnes in the script, but McG's perspective was like, "Common, you are John Connor's right-hand guy. You are his warrior, but there's a spiritual factor to it, too. Picture being in the Che Guevara mindset; you're fighting to help humanity, and you're willing to sacrifice anything to help humanity." It gave me a lot to start with. It was fun to be that guy. And it was important to know that being second-in-command isn't bad. Part of being a good team is knowing your position - knowing your strengths and knowing your weaknesses. For me to be second-in-command was cool for me.

Beaks: It's like being a role player on a basketball team.

Common: Exactly.

Beaks: You're the Craig Hodges, or, I'm sorry--

Common: Scottie!

Beaks: (Laughing) Sorry! You're definitely the Scottie Pippen in this situation.

Common: (Laughs) Yeah, I"m the Scottie Pippen there. But I'm shooting to be the Michael Jordan.

Beaks: Understood. (Laughs) Now, these characters rely on each other to survive. What kind of camaraderie did you build up with your fellow cast members?

Common: I think everybody had a great chemistry. People were being themselves, and I think that was important. We were attracted to one another. Like Sam [Worthington] is this Australian cat with a smart mouth, but very cool. I loved him. When we'd go to the bar together to chill out... I drink sangria, and he'd laugh. He'd be drinking beers and asking "Why are you drinking those soft sangrias?" He was that type of guy. And Christian Bale... we'd talk about different things, like being focused and doing great work. I learned from him. Christian Bale was on my list of actors that I wanted to work with, so just being around him, I was trying to absorb. And Anton Yelchin was just a funny dude; a young, smart guy who's very talented. Moon was this rebel girl, and Bryce was this nice, sweet, caring woman. Everybody brought their own personality, and that allowed the chemistry to be there. And different experiences helped us to get tighter, like when we went to Comic Con. It's funny. When you work on a movie, sometimes you don't get to work with each actor until later on. You don't always develop that relationship [right away]; overall, you don't get to see people until you're on set working with them. So once we did Comic Con, that created even more of a bond.

Beaks: Comic Con is nice, too, because you guys get to really hear the appreciation from the fans.

Common: It's a lot of fun. You get to acknowledge and give respect to the people who appreciate the work that you do, and the films and the genre and the whole... incubation of what you're doing, where it's coming from. They appreciate the source, whether it's science-fiction or comic books turned into films. And you learn from them, too. It's a cool experience at Comic Con.

Beaks: How do you feel the fans who've been with you since [CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR?] are responding to your move into acting?

Common: I think they're really supportive in that they know it's something I'm true to and love. I can tell when I come around by the way they reference the films that I've done. I think it all boils down to doing quality work, working with integrity and really being open to growing. I'll support anything that's good. I don't care if it's a rock artist or a painting: if it looks good to me and I feel it, I'm going to support it. I think my fans are really digging the fact that I'm being a part of quality material and bringing something truthful to the screen.

Beaks: It's nice that they've stuck with you through periods where you were doing stuff that was a little more experimental. One of my favorite things that you put out this decade was ELECTRIC CIRCUS. I really loved the sound of that LP, but it threw people a little. They didn't quite know what to make of it. But the same could be said of PAUL'S BOUTIQUE or DE LA SOUL IS DEAD.

Common: Oh, man, that's great company to be in. DE LA SOUL IS DEAD, PAUL'S BOUTIQUE... c'mon, man, those are classics! I mean, the fact that you could associate that with ELECTRIC CIRCUS... and you're right: sometimes your audience wants to say "Hey, you need to stay this way or that way." For me, it's like, "I need to grow. I need to do what's honest and coming from my heart." That's what [ELECTRIC CIRCUS] was.

Beaks: And that helps you recharge. You need to do that to get to the next LP.

Common: That's so true. Because it becomes redundant if you continue to do the same things. It's so fruitful and exciting when you get to try different things. You've got to follow your heart as a person and as an artist. You can't be scared of what the consequences are. Just follow your heart.

Beaks: You're often changing producers. Lately, you've worked a good deal with The Neptunes and Kanye. It sounds like your next one is going to be with Kanye?

Common: The next album, I'm looking at working with Kanye - well, I will work with Kanye - and No I.D., who produced some of my earlier work, like RESURRECTION, CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? and ONE DAY IT'LL ALL MAKE SENSE. I'll work with those two, and I'd still like to do some work with Pharrell and The Neptunes also.

Beaks: Thinking back to CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR?, I don't know if that gets the credit it deserves for being as influential as it was. For one, you got to the "Between the Sheets" sample before Biggie did. And I think the sing-songy delivery on that, you were at least a year ahead of The Pharcyde on that.

Common: I will say that I definitely feel there was some innovation in there. I can't cite specifically who was influenced, but I know there was innovation in it, and that it was a unique sound. I'm proud of that. One thing I will say is that the work that you've done before... you can appreciate it, but you better keep moving. (Laughs) People don't remember sometimes. But the fact that you're acknowledging it is great; I'm humbled, and I love the fact that you can say there were some new sounds in there.

Beaks: What do you have coming up next in film? I think you're shooting, or maybe have completed, DATE NIGHT?

Common: Yeah, DATE NIGHT. Collins is my character, and I'm basically on the hunt for Steve Carell and Tina Fey. They did something we didn't like, so I'm one of the bad guys, really.

Beaks: hat are you looking to do beyond that?

Common: Beyond that, I'm looking to do diverse genres of films with really impactful roles. Tackling everything from drama to comedy to action to romance... I just want to do it all, man! As far as genres of film, and showing range as an actor, and really becoming a leading man. I want to go out, take that platform, and do good in the world.

TERMINATOR SALVATION opens hits theaters May 21, 2009. Faithfully submitted, Mr. Beaks