E2

Interview

covered in soy cheese and fake pepperoni.

“I think the way we choose to

eat is definitely important,” he says. “I was vegan for a minute and I really commend those who can eat vegan. Then I was vege- tarian. Now I eat fish, but I try not to eat too much dairy. I’m ex- cited about this pizza.” He’s dining with the one jour- nalist on Earth who might be more excited about vegan pizza than he — one who remembers an ad campaign Common once did for PETA, clutching a veggie burger, flashing that proto-Holly- wood smile. “They put those ads up on this billboard in Brooklyn and my friends would ride past it and just laugh,” he remembers. “It did look kind of funny.” After a few crunchy bites, he

raises his hand: “I want to order another pizza to go, too. Thank you.”

Common finds himself in

PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST

Common: In ‘Just Wright,’ he steps up his cinematic game

With the rapper’s first leading role, the ball is in his court

by Chris Richards

He might be transitioning from full-time rapper to full-time actor, but Common is still living on rap time.

Which is to say, he’s 20 min-

utes late for a lunch interview at Busboys and Poets, a restaurant-

slash-bookstore on 14th Street NW. But once he arrives, he’s serving up apologies with a sand- papery voice made for micro- phones, and sparkling brown eyes made for movie screens. All is forgiven. We slump into the restaurant’s most sequestered corner booth in hopes of avoiding the camera- clutching fans who normally swarm him with their star-struck questions: “Am I dating this girl? Is Kanye cool?” he says. (An- swers: tennis pro Serena Wil- liams and yes.)

“There ought to be a law—all bio-dramas should be as vivid and entertaining as Thurgood.”

–New Y

ork Daily News

The 38-year-old Chicago native is on a promotional tour for the new film “Just Wright.” In it, he plays a pro basketballer who los- es his fiancee (Paula Patton) after injuring his knee, only to fall for his personal trainer, Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah). It’s a rom-com — heavy on the rom, light on the com — and it’s his first leading role. This lunch is a quieter mo- ment in a whirlwind promo tour — one that Common has tackled with a rapper’s hustle. “My team approached this film kind of like it was an album,” he says, sipping ice water. “We’ve been doing ‘Just Wright’ parties where I’d do walk-throughs in nightclubs and get on the mike. And we’ve done a mix tape of music promoting the movie.” “Just Wright” may be a love

story set in the NBA, but there’s plenty of music tucked into the script. Soul crooner John Legend and jazzman Terence Blanchard make cameos, and the plot takes a crucial turn behind the keys of a piano. Not to mention, Com- mon’s co-star is one of the most successful rapper-turned-actors

in Hollywood. “She’s just a fun person to be around,” Common says of Lati- fah. “She taught me to let it flow. Just be natural.” That’s surprising to hear. Since his 1992 debut album, “Can I Bor- row a Dollar?,” Common has al- ways sounded like a natural. His warm, inviting delivery made him a key player in the glory days of neo-soul, and his later work with Kanye West earned Com- mon a Grammy. Since then, he’s gone from appearing in Gap ads to roles in “American Gangster,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Smokin’ Aces” and “Date Night.” Nearly two decades in the rap game prepared him for life on set —but not fully. “As a hip-hop art- ist, you’re telling your story,” he says. “As an actor, you’ve got to tell the story that’s written. You’re really executing someone else’s vision.” Lunch is served — a vegan piz-

za that his publicist ordered as they rushed into the restaurant. “We can share this,” he says with a smile, before folding his hands for a silent prayer. When he’s fin- ished, he starts divvying up slices

Washington three or four times a year, including a December visit to perform at the Christmas tree lighting on the Ellipse. But when he first crossed paths with Ba- rack Obama, he may have been more famous than the president- to-be. “The first place I met Oba- ma was at a hip-hop summit in 2002 with Russell Simmons,” Common says. “He was just a cool dude, great energy, being himself. He just had that charis- ma and that swagger.” Since Obama’s election, Com-

mon says he’s noticed a change in the hip-hop community and the black community at large. “It’s definitely more accepted to be distinguished and to conduct yourself with a certain amount of class,” he says. “I notice more young men shake my hand firm- ly. The hip-hop community, we can look at his image and the way he conducts himself, and we can relate to it. . . . I think hip-hop is built upon leaders setting good examples.” His hand shoots up again. “I know I ordered one pizza but could you get me two? Two pizzas to go?”

So back to the whole rapper-to-

actor transition. “Freestyling is one component that’s helped me as an actor,” he says. “Every film I’ve been in, there’s been a change in script or some im- provisation. When you’re dealing with [“Date Night” stars] Steve Carell and Tina Fey, they’re gon- na come with something differ- ent every time.” He’s also tried to glean as much as he could from other ac- tors on set — namely when it comes to getting into character. “I knew the experience of work- ing with Denzel [Washington in “American Gangster”], I’d learn a lot of more than I’d learn in any classes. The experience of being on the set with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman [in “Want- ed”], I learned more about acting than ever before.” Before that, he was trying to learn from Lauryn Hill. “Some of

my performances in my videos were horrible,” Common says, cit- ing his 1997 clip for the song “Retrospect for Life.” The video featured Hill, the legendary Fu- gees singer and former child ac- tor, who coached Common through the motions. It didn’t help much. A few years later, he says, he botched a nonspeaking role in a small film starring Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of hip-hop group the Roots. “My acting was so terrible, and I ain’t even have any lines,” he says. “It was this movie called ‘Brooklyn Babylon.’ I hope it’s not on . . . what’s that list called?” IMDB? “Yeah, I don’t even have a com-

puter,” Common says. “I have an iPhone, but I only have that be- cause my band members bought me that for my birthday.” He has no interest in becoming computer-savvy, and his interest in rap is waning. “I’m going to continue to make music, but my hip-hop career is not going to be as prevalent as it was,” he says. “ I really want to put my time and energy into my acting.” Plenty of energy went into

“Just Wright” — especially on the court. Common shot all of his

“Some of my performances in my videos were

horrible.”

— Common, on early acting attempts

own scenes on the hardwood, balling for the camera against NBA superstars Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard — some of it pretty convincing. As a teenager, Common had hoop dreams of his own, but like his character, suf- fered a life-changing injury. “I played in high school, but sophomore year, somebody scratched my eye. I had to wear sunglasses for weeks,” he says. “The next year I wasn’t getting much playing time. . . . I had al- ready started rapping and I thought, man, I’ma start making demo tapes. . . . It’s funny how basketball drove me into rap- ping, rapping drove me into act- ing, and acting drove me back to basketball.” A tidy little conclusion. But

there’s still one slice of pizza left. “C’mon,” he says, nudging the

plate across the table. “I have two more on the way.”

richardsc@washpost.com

on washingtonpost.com

Video on the Web

Watch a time-lapse sketch of Common by staff artist

Patterson Clark created with the Brushes app on the iPad. See its development at

washingtonpost.com/style.

Come see WNO’s take on the Bard’s classic tale.

Ambroise Thomas

Hamlet

May 19-June 4

Company Premiere

Laurence Fishburnein

A play by

George Stevens Jr.

Directed by

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