Common
Born 1972
Known for John Wick: Chapter 2, Now You See Me, Suicide Squad.
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.
Movie Credits
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association (2026)
Hip-Hop and the White House (2024)
A Most Beautiful Thing (2020)
A Happening of Monumental Proportions (2017)
Feel Rich: Health Is the New Wealth (2017)
Two Trains Runnin' (2016)
LUV (2013)
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records (2013)
Alice (2022)
All About Nina (2018)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Love Beats Rhymes (2017)
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Just Wright (2010)
Killing Me Softly with His Songs (2022)
Ava (2020)
The Informer (2019)
Saint Judy (2018)
Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (2015)
Bouncing Cats (2010)
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005)
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause (2026)
Breathe (2024)
Hunter Killer (2018)
Smallfoot (2018)
Here and Now (2018)
The Hate U Give (2018)
Beef (2003)
Being Charlie (2015)
Every Secret Thing (2014)
Date Night (2010)
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Wanted (2008)
The Kitchen (2019)
Megan Leavey (2017)
The Wiz Live! (2015)
Smokin' Aces (2006)
Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince (2020)
Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016)
Selma (2014)
Happy Feet Two (2011)
Street Kings (2008)
Run All Night (2015)
Pawn (2013)
Now You See Me (2013)
The Tale (2018)
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop (2023)
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
Suicide Squad (2016)
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
X/Y (2014)
Wick Is Pain (2025)
You're Watching Video Music Box (2021)
American Gangster (2007)
Unity (2015)
Diane Warren: Relentless (2025)
Girls Trip (2017)
Fool's Paradise (2023)
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2021)
New Year's Eve (2011)
Movie 43 (2013)
Brown Sugar (2002)
One World: Together at Home (2020)
Entourage (2015)
