Ok this might get a little confusing, but bare with me... Normally I'm dead set against hip-hop stars or any type of "non acting celebrity" bagging roles in movies but I'm totally fine with this one. Seriously, after watching
Smokin' Aces earlier this year, this guy can really act.
Coming Soon are reporting that hip hop star
Common has joined the cast of both
Night Watch director's comic book adaptation of
Wanted and the totally unrelated cop movie which is also known as
Night Watch. We shall discuss Wanted first. The comic book adaptation will star
James McAvoy,
Angelina Jolie and
Morgan Freeman for helmer
Timur Bekmambetov. Common revealed the news of his casting to
MTV...
"I'm about to do this film called 'Wanted,' which is starring Angelina Jolie," My character in 'Wanted' is called the Gunsmith...I'm basically this dude that's a master at shooting guns. I'm training this gentleman that's coming in, who really has certain abilities but doesn't know it; I'm training him on how to be what he should be."
The other flick, Night Watch was formally known as The Night Watchman, and is that L.A.P.D movie that finds
Keanu Reeves framed for the murder of his wife by his former mentor
Forest Whitaker, with
Chris Evans and
Hugh Laurie also set to star.
The Hollywood Reporter who are carrying the scoop, refer to the movie as The Night Watchman, so maybe that name change last week was false or maybe they are just behind the times? In the movie, Common will play a heroine dealer who is posing as an undercover cop. His performance in Smokin Aces' out shadowed a lot of "proper actors" in the same movie, although as a whole I found the acting effort in that movie really strong. My favourite scene involved Common and
Jeremy Piven, and it wasn't just Piven's superb acting that made that scene but also Common's reactions. He has a great voice for the big screen and a great pair of eyes for reaction shots. Common also has a role in
American Gangster, due out in November which when all is said and done, will see the hip-hop star have four roles in four major movies of the year. Not bad at all.