Geffen recording artist Common is steadfastly making his mark on celluloid. Common's character Gunsmith, a weapons master in Universal Pictures' action-packed feature, Wanted sizzles on screen. If The Matrix and The Transporter had a baby it would be Wanted. With its breath-taking stunts, special effects and the soon-to-be copied 'curving bullet' trick Wanted will leave the audience wanting more. Witness the birth of a franchise. Even with all of the high-powered treats Common holds his own.
With roles in major motion pictures like: American Gangster and Smokin' Aces, the sky is the limit for this rapper/writer/entrepreneur/actor. Co-staring with Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, Common continues to make his mark.

Urban Network had the pleasure to sit down with this multi-talented artist to talk about his latest role, his upcoming release, Invincible Summer and further film projects.

So I'm gonna jump into it, are you tired of killing people in movies?

Common: (Laughing) Well yeah, but if I say that I'm hypocritical because I'm about to be in Terminator 4. I'm in Terminator 4, so I'm obviously gonna be like killing somebody in there, at least it's the machines we are killing in that film. But I would love to take on rolls that reflect other things as far as what I'm doing. I would love to play in a love story, romantic comedy or a drama. Maybe play a preacher, but something different anything that's a great role and I can show some range and really do something different and stretch.

How do you balance music and your acting career these days?

Common: Man I was really excited about this film, for me, when I was filming Wanted, I was at the end of recording my last album which was called Finding Forever. I fit these two worlds in because they both help each other. I feel a lot more free doing music and when I'm doing movies it takes pressure off the music. I'm actually having more fun with the music because I'm doing movies. I guess that's because that isn't my only source of expression anymore. I'm actually putting out an album and it has been the quickest that I have recorded an album ever. The album is called Invincible Summer, coming out in August.

Talk about the training and stunts you had to do for this film?

Common: A lot of my training was gun training and learning about weapons. My character, Gunsmith is the master of the weaponry. If your gun has a problem, I'm fixing it; so I needed to know how to take them apart, put it together and know the ins and outs of guns. I would follow the actual arms guy who was on the movie set and sit with him in the truck and watch him fix these guns. At a certain point we had a little contest to see who can put the guns together and take them a part quick enough.

Who won?

Common: (Laughing) He definitely won, but eventually I got decent at it.

The director spoke a lot about how this film was an organic adventure. Even though you didn't have a lot of lines in the movie your presence was felt. How did he direct you in those types of scenes where there's not a lot of dialogue.

Common: He just reminded me to be alive in the scenes no matter what, and even if I'm not speaking, there's something going on. Like in this room right now, everyone one of us has something happening even if you are not talking. So it was important for me what ever Gunsmith's thoughts were they needed to be there. When you work on a character and really know who that character is, once you get to that set, whatever you are given you can roll with it because that character is alive in you. If they give me more dialogue I'm able to spit it out because it's going to be in the form of that character. If they take away lines and there's no dialogue, that character is still alive in that scene because I know who that character is; the core of the character is there.

Compare developing this character verses your character in Smokin' Aces?

Common: Smokin' Aces was the first movie I had ever done. We had bit of time to prepare for this one. I got the call for Gunsmith about a week before I had to leave for Prague. With Smokin' Aces I got baby stepped into the filming and with this one (Wanted) I got thrown in there; I had to sink or swim. The first day I got there I was like, 'I'm filming. I'm in Prague.' I walked on the set and Angelina [Jolie] was there, as well as Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy. I was nervous and people were talking in all types of accents that I don't understand; like the director Timur [Bekmambetov], James McAvoy or the assistance director who's speaking English in a French accent. All this was a new world for me, everything was new and I really had to gain my ground. The first day I was definitely nervous, like aww shit this is crazy!

What was the vibe like on the set? Was everyone hanging out in each other's trailers?

Common: We did hang out sometimes in each other's trailers. We did go out and go go-carting sometimes; it was a lot of fun like that. There was a lot of creative things going on and Timur would say, 'I think we should do this' and then James would respond with 'Man I was thinking the character was like this,' and Angie would say, 'well I know Fox would do this, so this is how I'm gonna do it.' Each person had their own relationship and all together we had a relationship. Each person was cool to talk to. Angie and I would be talking because we were around each other in a lot of scenes. We would talk about funny and serious stuff. I would try to pick Morgan's brain. Sometimes James and I would talk, but I barely understood anything he said (laughing) because he's from Scotland, but it was cool we had a good time.

On the musical side, do you still love H.E.R. and have you Found Forever?

Common: Yeah I still love H.E.R. and I think I have Found Forever in doing things that I love and being part of things that can be timeless. I'm still gonna continue finding forever and continue loving H.E.R.

(Common explains to those who don't know)

Just so y'all know who H.E.R. is…H.E.R. is Hip-Hop and she's referred to in a song I did called, "I Used to Love H.E.R." I used to love hip hop. I made it in '94 and it was talking about how I used a metaphor of a woman to describe hip hop and how she was changing and going through all these phases and how I fell in love with her. There was actually a movie kind of based on that song called Brown Sugar.

It was just on this weekend.

Common: Yeah that's cool. Of course I still love hip hop and the music. The Finding Forever CD was really about making something that's just timeless. I still feel that's my goal to make music and be part of films and things that are going to be around forever. Like Terminator, I went back to watch The Terminator 1 and 2 and I was like these were great movies. I want to be in some groundbreaking movies that people will remember and want to watch in 2050.

A lot of rappers have been getting flack for 'taking' roles from actors. Did Morgan Freeman embrace you or was there resistance?

Common: Morgan didn't speak to me the whole film! (Laughing) Naw! I'm just kidding. Morgan was so cool. First of all, his energy was just right on the set. He was singing songs, dancing around and having fun. We were all in awe of Morgan Freeman. I got chills when he came around and talked to me and gave me advice. He would whisper something to me in my ear while I was preparing for a scene and it made me feel like he really cares, you know. I definitely felt like he cared and he saw my passion and my focus for what I was doing. He was very supportive.

You mentioned working in Prague. What did you discover about the city while you were there?

Common: Not only is it a beautiful city, it defiantly has a certain romantic vibe to it. Whenever I was off I would go to this little river and sip wine and eat good food by myself; it had a little romantic good feel to it. The people were cool and it was definitely something new for me. I had never been to Prague and the architecture was amazing.

Do you see yourself shooting any videos over there like Kanye and John Legend did?

Common: I would like to shoot something in Europe, Paris or Rome, but not Prague 'cause Kanye tapped it already. (Laughing) I don't want no seconds. I'm an original person, so I'm gonna do my thing.

What can we expect from Invincible Summer?

Common: Aww, man this is a really new fresh sound from Common! The Neptunes have produced most of the album, along with a producer called DJ, who did work for Outkast; he produced 'Bombs Over Baghdad' and 'Miss Jackson'. This album came about from being out and touring internationally, going to clubs and really seeing people enjoying themselves around the world. I want my music to be part of that enjoyment. This music is really some fun, feel good music. I know people think Common usually gets into deep subject matter, but this time it's more about just enjoying ourselves, smile and have fun, you know. So that's what's it's about; letting loose and I figured that I just want to be able do that.

Last question, did you do any music for the film?

Common: Naw! I was planning to, but I didn't get the chance to do any music for the film so hopefully for the sequel I will.

Wanted Rated R hits theaters June 27, 2008