June 2008 - Rapper Common has successfully made the transition into acting in feature films with a series of roles in action movies. And while doing the press junket for Wanted, a high-octane, explosive thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov in which he plays a character called The Gunsmith, Common provided a little info on his latest project – another action movie: Terminator Salvation.
Currently filming in New Mexico, the fourth film of the Terminator franchise finds John Connor all grown up and still taking on the machines. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) plays John. Common takes on the role of Barnes, a freedom fighter who's one of Connor's right-hand men.
Although a peaceful man in real life, Common keeps getting cast in films that require him to handle weapons. But his past roles did come in handy when it came time to prepare for Terminator Salvation. "Actually, not to brag, but when I got to gun training for Terminator, I went one day and they were like, 'Oh, you know all this s**t.' I was like, 'Yeah…' I humbly was like, 'Yeah. I got this. I can do this.’ It was simple. Gun training was like one day and, like I said, they knew. But I’m just starting the filming. There was a motorcycle scene where I wanted to do a stunt but they were like, 'Nah. We can’t let you do it on the motorcycle.’ It was like I was getting knocked off the motorcycle and they didn’t want me to do that, but I was open to it. At a certain point I did think though, 'Well, I do [have] an album coming out,'" joked Common.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ended with the day finally coming when the machines launched their full-on attack, destroying much of the planet and killing billions. The earth looks much different in the fourth Terminator movie and Common described the set: "Man, that set, the way I can describe it, being respectful to the film, is it’s just an incredible set. I went in there, I went to that set and it was like, 'Man, we are in this world. This is like Terminator. I’m in the Terminator, right in this world.' I would say the set is incredible."
As of the Wanted press junket, Common had yet to work with Christian Bale but said he's really looking forward to it. "He definitely is a great actor, man. I can’t wait to work with him."
Common's racking up an impressive resume, and being a part of the Terminator franchise will test his acting skills. But Common admits he does have huge hopes for his future in acting. "It definitely is a huge leap and I’m very grateful. My goal is to be a great, an incredible actor, and be one of the biggest movie stars out there. I want to have a long career as an actor and be noted as one of the great actors of our time. That’s what I want to be. I know it’s a journey but I believe I can do it. That’s what the goal is. I definitely feel it’s a wide range for me to do it. I know I want to do love stories, romantic comedy, drama, action. I want to be part of the great process," said Common.
