NEW YORK (AP) — The history of slavery in America
is a history of resistance, rebellion. Yet, movies and TV do not always
showcase those themes.
That's one reason why the rapper Common is excited
about AMC's new series, "Hell on Wheels," a Western that chronicles
the building of the transcontinental railroad.
Common plays mixed-raced former slave Elam
Ferguson, who works on the rail system. Portraying a slave, he says, is a big
deal, particularly because his character defies the stereotypes often seen in
films and television.
"A lot of times we've seen slaves obviously
going through so much pain and trouble, they were oppressed and downtrodden, so
it was more of a lower position. (My character) has been through a lot of
things, but is holding his head up high and his shoulders are up strong,"
says Common, who was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.
At first, Common says he wasn't interested in a TV
role, but then his agent suggested he read the script for "Hell on
Wheels." Common says it's the first time he has played a character so
complex.
The Grammy-winning entertainer researched by
reading about African slaves of the 19th century and visiting former
plantations in South. He calls his journey "deep" and
"heavy."
"I feel blessed that I'm able to represent
what a black man, what a black person was at that time," he says,
"but it definitely was some weight and some pain."
One experience in filming the show, though, was
really difficult for Common: when white cast members used the N-word.
"Even if you try to think that they're acting,
it still just doesn't feel right," he says. "You get that feeling
like, 'Man, this is not good.'"
The series, which airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET, was
filmed in Canada. It centers on Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a former
Confederate soldier and slaveholder who is avenging the death of his wife.
Bonhannon set his slaves free a year before the Civil War. He takes a job
overseeing the workers on the transcontinental railroad, which includes Elam
Ferguson (Common).
Common, who appeared in "Smokin' Aces,"
''American Gangster" and "Terminator Salvation," and does a
voice in "Happy Feet Two," says the show focuses on issues that still
exist in today's world.
"Things that we try to hide and put under the
table, things that we act like, 'Oh no, that's not how I feel' — some of that
is still there from hundreds of years back. It's still in us and we've got to
remove it," he says. "Along with it just being entertaining and being
fresh — it's an important show."
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/AMC, Chris Large)
