Common gets the film role he’s always wanted in
“Just Wright”

JUST WRIGHT stars Queen Latifah (BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE) as Leslie Wright, a straight-shooting physical therapist who gets the dream job of working with NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (Common – DATE NIGHT). 

After a string of successful supporting roles in films including AMERICAN GANGSTER and TERMINATOR SALVATION, Common is tackling his first leading role in JUST WRIGHT.

“Just Wright” starring Queen Latifah and Common from FOX Searchlight Films

“We always knew that the greatest casting challenge was going to be Scott McKnight,” says producer Debra Martin Chase. “The character combines both machismo and vulnerability. He needed to be a terrific actor and credible as a basketball superstar. He has to be really good looking, athletic and all the things that come with being a basketball star.

“The stars all aligned at the right time,” Chase continues. “Common embodies everything we were looking for. He’s the right age and the right physicality and the right persona. It is uncanny because that combination of strength and vulnerability comes naturally.”

His leading lady couldn’t be more enthusiastic. “Common is fantastic!” raves Latifah. “It was a big role to undertake. He was training and shooting at the same time, going from rehearsing and  filming all day to basketball training. He delivered 100 percent.”

“And he was such a cool person to work with,” she continues. “I would look at him some days and say, ‘I hope you’re not exhausted yet. Because you got to do it again and do it again.’ It’s been great to watch him stretch as an actor and do all of the things he’s capable of.”

“McKnight has a lot of heart to him and it shows in things like an interest in Joni Mitchell’s music and some of the artwork that he chooses for his home.” says Common of his character.

Common relished his first leading man experience and all the opportunities that came with it. “I knew I wanted to be a part of this movie,” says Common. “It’s about two of my favorite things, love and basketball.”

The role showcases a previously unseen side of the actor, who has focused primarily on roles in action films including WANTEDand SMOKIN’ ACES. “I had emotional scenes,” he says. “I had to be funny and charming. I went from romantic scenes to basketball scenes. One of the most fulfilling moments was hitting that three-point shot against The Heat. The pressure was on for real. It was like a real game because everybody’s like, ‘Yo, you got to hit this shot.’ The crowd felt it, the team felt it and behind the cameras, the producers and the director were all saying, ‘Come on, hit this shot.’ That was very satisfying.”

Common in “Street Kings”

I sat down with Common in New York City to discuss his first leading man role --

Sandra Varner (Talk2SV): There is a lot of high energy in your film performance as a successful professional basketball player.  Similarly, I saw you on tour putting out a high-energy performance on stage as well.  Do both performances require the same level of energy? 

Common: Oh, definitely but, it’s a different type of performance because basketball requires conditioning.  You have to be in incredible shape to run up and down the court for the length of time that you need to play a basketball game.  With a film, you’re doing it over and over so as much as I thought I was in shape, I had to do extra training for this movie role to be in good condition.

Common in “Wanted”

Talk2SV: When you talk about extra training, we’ve seen you in the “bad guy” roles, now we see you as the romantic lead, which, of course, off screen people love you for.  How does it feel to be the “heart throb” in front of the camera as the romantic lead?

Common:  (Blushing) I love it!   I enjoy it because I have no problem with expressing myself and being on camera.  As an actor, I love being able to take on roles that show the diversity of who we are as human beings. I enjoy being able to play an NBA starter who had a vulnerability to him as well as a greatness to him.  My character had an arch where you see him ‘discover love’ so, I’m open and I’ll try all type of roles; I feel I can do anything as an actor.

Common in “Smokin Aces”

Talk2SV: What did you and Queen Latifah do to get comfortable with each other for your romantic scenes?

Common:  I think it was the natural chemistry that she and I possess because it’s not like we had rehearsals for those scenes.  I think it was more of me telling her, ‘hey look, I got you, ok. I want you to know I’m going to respect everything and let me know if you’re uncomfortable with anything,’ and she said back to me, ‘hey, you got it.’ So, I mean, it was a good connection and I also think our chemistry is good based on the movie poster alone.  When I saw the poster for Just Wright, the poster made me feel good and that was just an example of our chemistry, really.

Talk2SV: Speaking of feeling good, this is a “feel good” romantic story. How have you felt when perhaps you’ve expressed your love to someone and they reject you?

Common: Oh man, you know, if I express my love (to someone) and they reject me, it’s a tough feeling.  It’s a feeling where you look at yourself and say, ‘Is there something going on with me?’  But I have learned  through my experiences of being rejected that it’s not always me, it’s not always you, the person, it can be something that that person may have an issue with or it may just not be the right connection.  This one was just right, you know.

Common in “Terminator Salvation”

Talk2SV: You have a daughter, right?

Common: Yes.

Talk2SV:  This movie is about the relationship between Leslie and Scott and the relationship Leslie has with her father-- what he tells her when her heart is broken. What do you tell your daughter to prepare her for relationships?

Common: Ummm, I really try to instill in her to just love herself and let her know that she’s loved by me and by all of us around her.  I let her know that there will be things that are not always going to go her way and she will have to work through them.  I always tell her, ‘say your prayers, say your prayers,’ because I mean, that’s what gets me through a lot of things; just taking that time to communicate with God.  But, more than anything, I try to keep her in the mind state of loving herself and I feel like that about all kids.  No matter who you are, if you can love yourself, it can help you through many things in life and I really think that’s what this film was encouraging and endorsing.  Latifah showed that her character, Leslie Wright, was a really confident woman and a strong woman.  She loved herself no matter what society deemed to be pretty; that you have to be a size 3 to be pretty.  She knew that she was beautiful inside and out and I think that’s important for all of us to know.

Talk2SV:  Queen Latifah said there was a short list of men who could play the romantic lead alongside her. She talked about what she was looking for: he had to be multifaceted, like sports and had to be able to handle her.

Common: That I can handle her…

Talk2SV: What’s your comment about what you brought to this role and why you think you were chosen?

Common: I think I was able to bring sensitivity to the role and sincerity to it. I think I am able to handle Latifah in a way that you feel that it’s a man and a woman in a dynamic relationship.  You also feel the chemistry and the friendship between these characters and I believe that I was able to accomplish that with Latifah. I think it was important that the person had an open heart and be free to make Latifah comfortable in the love scenes.  I hope and I believe I was able to do that because I communicated well with her and was respectful to her and told her that whatever she needed I was able to accomplish that from an actor’s perspective.  I don’t know how she knew that I played a little b-ball, but I’m surprised.  Maybe we just told her because people look at me and they see ‘Common the artist’ and I do too.  I see people that are artistic or whatever and never think they could play any sports, you know.  It just doesn’t seem that if a photographer jumped out and started ‘hooping’ good, I’d be surprised, you know.  It just doesn’t seem like something that artists do but she chose me for those reasons and I think she realized that I could appeal to the men too. There are some guys that I think when you watch them as a dude, you’re like, ‘Ah, he’s a wimp or something.’ You don’t feel that masculinity in him, but, some buys make you think, ‘He’s a cool guy.’ I think certain dudes possess those qualities.

Common & Jimmi Simpson in Date Night

Talk2SV: As you’ve said, you are fortunate in that men and women appreciate you for all that you do. As a role model for young people, in particular, what do you want them to recognize --now, in their lives-- that will carry them through the rest of their lives?

Common: I would like young people to say to themselves, ‘Man, I have a dream of things that I want to do in this world and I can achieve those dreams if I just buckle down, that’s part of it, focus on what I want to do and try to make the best choices possible.  Work effectively and really believe in what I’m doing and put God first.  I think all things that you want will happen. I want young people to feel that and know that you can do the things you love, achieve and fulfill your dreams.

Talk2SV: It’s great to hear you talk about your faith in God. In what ways do you rely on it most?

Common: I rely on it in every aspect of my life, especially through just waking up.  Everyday I’m grateful. But it’s also in aspects of being in the music industry, dealing with the ups and downs of it and remembering what my purpose is, you know.  I have to know that I’m not only here to fulfill what I want to do, my purpose and our purpose as young men and women and people in general is bigger than us.  So I do my best to try to discover what I’m supposed to do and what does God want for me?  I hope that what I do aligns with what God wants because that’s the most important is to have a higher purpose.  That, to me, is divine.

Talk2SV: Are there passages of scripture that you hold most dear?

Common: Yes, Psalms 23; I read that a lot. What’s funny is one of my friends had that (scripture) tattooed on his arm and that’s what made me start reading it.  Psalms 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…’ embodies so much of life in it.  Today, I actually read something that was in Romans; a passage about the good that will come for those who love God and who God loves, or something to that effect.  That’s strong right there cause you could walk through life feeling confident that if you stay in tune with the creator that all the good things you want will come to you.

Talk2SV: You are so poetic and prophetic in a lot of what you do from a music perspective.   Do you think you could take portions of the Psalms and Proverbs and set it to rap?

Common: I probably could but the thing is, I don’t know if I would quote the whole Psalms.  I would definitely be able to make some meaning of those Psalms and put that out in my music.  I think when I get the understanding of certain scripture and things that I read, I do try to translate that and in many ways, I try to offer spirituality in my music.

Common and Serena Williams

Talk2SV: Earlier, I’ve heard you talk about your friends; it sounds like they keep you grounded.

Common: Oh yeah, they definitely do. My friends don’t say ‘yes’ all the time. My friends tell me what their honest opinion is; my friends also remind me of where I’ve come from and sometimes how far I’ve come, you know.  My friends give me unconditional love no matter what’s going on in my life: that’s important and that’s why I really honor my friends.

Talk2SV: Everybody wins in the end. What lesson should we take from this movie?

Common: I think you should to take home that love has no box and it has no stereotype.  You can’t say, ‘Well, this is the type of person I should love and this is how you should love.’  Love is something that you feel inside of you and you feel it for another human being.  You know when that love is there for you.  You should accept that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes; you don’t have to be a size 2 for you to be beautiful. Beautiful women are curvy; come in plus sizes, small sizes, tall, short…we all have beauty inside of us and if we really believe in and let that live within us, then we are beautiful.

Talk2SV: Thank you.

Common: Yeah, thank you.