Common
Biography
Lonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. He has received three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, and gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album Resurrection. He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s. He achieved mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major-label album Like Water for Chocolate (2000), received commercial success. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for the Erykah Badu single "Love of My Life". His 2005 album Be was also a commercial success and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common received his second Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released in late 2007. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, having previously released music under various other labels including Relativity, Geffen, and GOOD Music. Common won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song, for his song, co-written and performed with John Legend, "Glory" from the 2014 film Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel. Common's acting career also includes roles in the films Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve, Run All Night, Being Charlie, Rex, John Wick: Chapter 2, Smallfoot and Hunter Killer. He also narrated the documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture. He starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western television series Hell on Wheels. Description above from the Wikipedia article Common (rapper), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
The Simpsons
1989
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
The Daily Show
1996
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
Silo
2023
Filmography
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest · 2009
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self · 2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self - Guest / Musical Guest · 2014
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
· 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Musical Guest · 2015
The Simpsons
as Common (voice) · 1989
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self - Guest · 2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self · 2014
The Daily Show
as Self · 1996
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self · 2019
Silo
as Robert Sims · 2023
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Cameo (uncredited) · 1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self · 1975
The View
as Self · 1997
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self · 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Musical Guest · 2003
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self - Guest · 2022
Real Time with Bill Maher
as Self · 2003
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
· 1988
Scrubs
as Common · 2001
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest · 1993
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
· 1992
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self · 2003
The Tamron Hall Show
as Self - Guest · 2019
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
as Self · 2007
Later... with Jools Holland
· 1992
The Mindy Project
as Security Guard · 2012
MTV Video Music Awards
as Self - Presenter · 1984
The Chi
as Rafiq · 2018
Girlfriends
as Omar · 2000
Never Have I Ever
as Dr. Chris Jackson · 2020
Off Camera with Sam Jones
as Self · 2014
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out
· 2005
American Masters
as Self · 1986
Chelsea
as Self · 2016
One on One
as Darius · 2001
MTV Movie & TV Awards
as Self - Presenter · 1992
Lip Sync Battle
as Self · 2015
Hell on Wheels
as Elam Ferguson · 2011
Now You See Me
as Evans · 2013
John Wick: Chapter 2
as Cassian · 2017
Suicide Squad
as Monster T · 2016
Ocean's Eight
as Common · 2018
TRL
· 1998
Terminator Salvation
as Barnes · 2009
American Gangster
as Turner Lucas · 2007
Hunter Killer
as RA John Fisk · 2018
Entertainment Tonight
as Self · 1981
The Chris Rock Show
· 1997
StoryBots: Answer Time
as Mr. Wonderful · 2022
Run All Night
as Mr. Price · 2015
Wanted
as The Gunsmith · 2008
Chappelle's Show
· 2003
Home Movie: The Princess Bride
as Westley · 2020
New Year's Eve
as Soldier · 2011
Ava
as Michael · 2020
Happy Feet Two
as Seymour (voice) · 2011
Girls Trip
as Common · 2017
Street Kings
as Coates · 2008
Bottomless Brunch at Colman's
as Self · 2020
Movie 43
as Bob Mone (segment "The Pitch") · 2013
Smokin' Aces
as Sir Ivy · 2006
Smallfoot
as Stonekeeper (voice) · 2018
The Informer
as Grens · 2019
Date Night
as Collins · 2010
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
as Coach Cal · 2012
Shut Up and Dribble
as Self - Musician · 2018
Entourage
as Common · 2015
The Hate U Give
as Uncle Carlos · 2018
Game Over
as Himself (voice) · 2004
Fraggle Rock: Rock On!
as Self · 2020
Mark Twain Prize
as Self - Musical Guest · 1999
The Kitchen
as Gary Silvers · 2019
I Love the '70s: Volume 2
as Self · 2006
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy
as Self (archive footage) · 2022
Megan Leavey
as Gunny Martin · 2017
Barbershop: The Next Cut
as Jabari · 2016
Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices
· 2020
Breathe
as Darius · 2024
Just Wright
as Scott McKnight · 2010
America Divided
as Self · 2016
Black in the 80s
as Self · 2005
The Tale
as Martin · 2018
Fool's Paradise
as The Dagger · 2023
Wick Is Pain
as Self · 2025
Pawn
as Jeff Porter · 2013
Every Secret Thing
as Devlin Hatch · 2014
All About Nina
as Rafe · 2018
Selma
as James Bevel · 2014
Saint Judy
as Benjamin Adebayo · 2018
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association
as Narrator (voice) · 2026
Obama
as Self · 2020
Here and Now
as Ben · 2018
Activate: The Global Citizen Movement
as Self · 2019
Evolution of the Black Quarterback
as Self · 2024
One World: Together at Home
as Self · 2020
Being Charlie
as Travis · 2016
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
as Self · 2021
Brown Sugar
as Self · 2002
The Words That Built America
as Self - Reader: Declaration of Independence · 2017
Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott
as Self · 2025
Unity
as Narrator (voice) · 2015
A Happening of Monumental Proportions
as Daniel · 2017
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
as Self · 2005
Love Beats Rhymes
as Coltrane · 2017
![Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw92%2FiJoIAh8NaChoVN0GRYVHaa4Yxlq.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]
as Self (segment "Two Words") · 2005
Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]
as Airline Employee (segment "All Falls Down") · 2005
Chasing Trane
as Self - Musician · 2017
Alice
as Frank · 2022
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
as Self · 2012
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
· 2016
You're Watching Video Music Box
as Self (archive footage) · 2021
Diane Warren: Relentless
as Self · 2025
BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration
as Self - Performer · 2016
The Wiz Live!
as The Bouncer · 2015
Retro Wick: Exploring the Unexpected Success of 'John Wick'
as Self · 2017
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
as Self · 2011
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
as Self · 2023
Letter to the President
as Self · 2005
X/Y
as Jason · 2014
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
as Self · 2016
5 Sides of a Coin
as Himself · 2004
LUV
as Uncle Vincent · 2013
Dave Chappelle's Block Party 2
as Self
Chris Rock: Road To Live Special
as Self · 2023
Bouncing Cats
as Narrator · 2010
Killing Me Softly with His Songs
as Self · 2022
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause
as Self · 2026
Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
· 2015
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records
as Self · 2013
The Legacy of J Dilla
as Self - Rapper; Friend · 2023
Pete Rock: Soul Survivor
as Common · 1998
Music
as Self · 2010
Hip-Hop and the White House
· 2024
Bilal: Live at Glasshaus
as Self · 2024
Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince
as Self · 2020
Feel Rich: Health Is the New Wealth
as Himself · 2017
A Most Beautiful Thing
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2020
Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central
as Self · 2024
Between Riverside and Crazy
as Junior · 2023
The Price of Protest
as Self (archive footage) · 2019
Hate to See You Go
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association
as Self/Narrator
Brave New Voices 2010
as Himself - Host · 2010
Beef
as Self · 2003
Letter to the Free
· 2016
Chamber Check: Evolution of a Fight Scene
as Self · 2017
We're Still Here (Now).... A Documentary about nobody
as Self · 2016
Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life
as Self · 2007
The Notorious B.I.G BET Official presents
· 2005
Two Trains Runnin'
as Narrator · 2016
Misdirection: The Real Magic
as Narrator · 2017
Godfathers and Sons
as Self · 2003
Framework
as Himself - Host · 2015
Soundz of Spirit
as Self · 2005
Alicia Keys: Unplugged
as Self · 2005
Paragraphs I Manifest
as Self
Black America Again
as Himself - Street Performer · 2016