Empire Season 2 Cast & News: Common Dishes on Sinister Role in 'Run All Night' (EXCLUSIVE)
Oscar-winning rapper Common has kicked off 2015 with creative ferocity in music, film and soon on TV.
The 42-year-old rapper from Chicago won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song "Glory" from the 2014 film "Selma," in which he co-starred as 1960s Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel.
He's also starring in "Run All Night," alongside Liam Neeson and Ed Harris, which hits theaters today. And the news just broke that he will guest star in Lee Daniels' hit TV show, "Empire" along with Oprah. On Thursday, the "Empire" creator confirmed the news to Access Hollywood.
With the addition of Common and Oprah, "Empire" just keeps getting hotter and hotter!
In "Run All Night," Common plays Price, a sinister assassin who helps heighten the intensity in the action-thriller, which also stars Joel Kinnaman and Genesis Rodriguez. He also has an fiery action scene with Neeson.
Latin Post.com had an opportunity to catch up with the superstar hip-hop artist and actor, who expressed excitement about taking part in his new role.
"I feel great about playing the bad guy, it's a lot of exploration for me as an actor to go to those places because I don't get to go to them in real life," he said. "The human being that I strive to be is a great human being, but as an actor, you take on roles that are not you, and that's the fun part."
Common also mentioned he was especially thrilled to work alongside Neeson, who he says is timeless. He also pointed out how cool it is that today he can take his daughter to see a Liam Neeson action film -- they better hurry as Neeson said he might retire from action films in two years!
"For me, it shows that quality has no age to it," Common said of Neeson and Harris who are in their 60s.
Common has also starred alongside other impressive actors in films such as "Smokin' Aces," "Street Kings," "American Gangster," "Wanted," "Terminator: Salvation," "Date Night," "Just Wright," "Happy Feet Two" and "New Year's Eve."
As mentioned, Common and John Legend's Oscar-winning song, "Glory," was so powerful that their performance left audiences in tears at the Oscars, but that moment continues to mesmerize Common.
"It's a wonderful feeling because I always dreamed about being heard by the world and being recognized as an artist by the world, not only just as a music artist, but as an actor, too," he explained.
"To have the platform for it to be at the Oscars is the greatest level of achievement for any entertainer. ... For us to represent 'Selma' and 'Glory' and to be up there with that type of message was really important to me and valuable for me. I wouldn't want my first award to be anything but for that."
Will Common pursue more songs for movie soundtracks in the near future?
"I love the fact that I get to write songs for movies," he told Latin Post.
"The next music project I work on will accompany a film. One of our plans is to create music, but also have a short film to accompany it. Just to keep exploring different ways of expressing music and film and to show the connection too."
Check out the official trailer for "Run All Night," which hits theaters on Friday, March 13.
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