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Common Is Ready to Put Down His Guns...Almost	MOVIES
The Wanted star loves playing the badass, but hopes there are love scenes—and maybe green superhero tights—in his immediate future.

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Rapper-turned-actor Common has a short but blood-soaked movie résumé. After making his big-screen debut as Jeremy Piven's bodyguard in the bullet-clogged Smokin' Aces, he had equally violent turns in the crime dramas American Gangster and Street Kings. Now, he's Gunsmith, a soft-spoken but heavily armed member of the assassin collective known as The Fraternity (alongside Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman) in the ultraviolent comic book adaptation Wanted.

Much of Wanted was shot in Chicago—must have been nice to be back in your hometown, huh?
Oh, man. As a kid you never think, Man, I'm going to make a movie… At least I wasn't thinking like that. That wasn't my kid dream, to be in a movie. But man, when I came back to Chicago, it felt so much like an honor for me.

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Did they have a whole backstory mapped out for your character?
Nah, I had to create the backstory, because Gunsmith wasn't written in the script, and doesn't come from the comic books. So he became this person who was really samurai, like a spiritual warrior. He was a master of weaponry; he knew guns in and out. But he's also trying to train [James McAvoy's character] Wesley on how to be a warrior. If Bruce Lee was working with guns, that's who I thought Gunsmith was.

Did you know the comic books before you started working on the movie?
Naw. I just actually got into the comic book after I was in the movie. I read the comic book as part of my research.

Was there anything that your character did that didn't make it into the final film?
Actually, they ended up putting in more things for my character to do. I haven't seen the movie, but a lot of people have told me, "You know, you ain't got a lot of lines in the movie, but your character was present." Regardless of lines, to me, it's "is that character alive," you know? That's really ultimately what I wanted to do.

You were rumored to be playing Green Lantern in the Justice League movie—is that still happening?
I don't know if the movie's gonna happen. If so, I would love to be Green Lantern; I auditioned for the part. It seemed like it was going, I thought it was realistic, but it just didn't happen. It definitely could happen sooner or later. I love the Green Lantern. I would love to do that.

And you're part of the new Terminator movie, right?
Yeah, I'm part of Terminator 4: Salvation. It's incredible to be working with Christian Bale, and McG's directing. And to be in a film with Tilda Swinton. It's like, these are dreams, blessings to be in Terminator 4, man. It's the start of a new franchise.

Who do you play in the movie?
My character's named Barnes, and he's part of the resistance. And that's probably all I can say about it. He's a freedom fighter with the resistance.

Are you ever going to do a movie where you aren't shooting somebody?
[Laughs] I want a movie where I don't have to pull any triggers. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm doing just a drama, or I'm a leading man and I'm doing a love story. I'm looking forward to that day.

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[1/9/2009]