Common
Known for Acting · 150 credits
- Born
- 1972-03-13 (age 54)
- Place of birth
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Also known as
- Lonnie Rashid Lynn · Common Sense · Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.
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
The Simpsons
1989
as Common (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self / Self - Musical Guest
The Daily Show
1996
as Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest / Self - Musical Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
TV Shows (54)
The Simpsons
1989
as Common (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self / Self - Musical Guest
The Daily Show
1996
as Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest / Self - Musical Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
as Self
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
as Self
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
as Self - Guest
The View
1997
as Self
Scrubs
2001
as Common
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self / Self - Musical Guest
Silo
2023
as Robert Sims
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
2007
as Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
The Chi
2018
as Rafiq
American Masters
1986
as Self
Hell on Wheels
2011
as Elam Ferguson
Tamron Hall
2019
as Self - Guest
MTV Video Music Awards
1984
as Self - Presenter
Girlfriends
2000
as Omar
The Mindy Project
2012
as Security Guard
Never Have I Ever
2020
as Dr. Chris Jackson
MTV Movie & TV Awards
1992
as Self - Presenter
Lip Sync Battle
2015
as Self
Off Camera with Sam Jones
2014
as Self
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out
2005
One on One
2001
as Darius
Chelsea
2016
as Self
TRL
1998
Home Movie: The Princess Bride
2020
as Westley
Entertainment Tonight
1981
as Self
The Chris Rock Show
1997
StoryBots: Answer Time
2022
as Mr. Wonderful
Chappelle's Show
2003
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Mark Twain Prize
1999
as Self - Musical Guest
Bottomless Brunch at Colman's
2020
as Self
Shut Up and Dribble
2018
as Self - Musician
America Divided
2016
as Self
I Love the '70s: Volume 2
2006
as Self
Game Over
2004
as Himself (voice)
Black in the 80s
2005
as Self
Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices
2020
Fraggle Rock: Rock On!
2020
as Self
Activate: The Global Citizen Movement
2019
as Self
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association
2026
as Narrator (voice)
Evolution of the Black Quarterback
2024
as Self
Framework
2015
as Himself - Host
Obama
2020
as Self
Movies (96)
John Wick: Chapter 2
2017
as Cassian
Now You See Me
2013
as Evans
Ocean's Eight
2018
as Common
American Gangster
2007
as Turner Lucas
Hunter Killer
2018
as RA John Fisk
Suicide Squad
2016
as Monster T
Wanted
2008
as The Gunsmith
Terminator Salvation
2009
as Barnes
Movie 43
2013
as Bob Mone (segment "The Pitch")
Smokin' Aces
2006
as Sir Ivy
Smallfoot
2018
as Stonekeeper (voice)
Ava
2020
as Michael
The Hate U Give
2018
as Uncle Carlos
Run All Night
2015
as Mr. Price
Street Kings
2008
as Coates
Girls Trip
2017
as Common
Entourage
2015
as Common
The Kitchen
2019
as Gary Silvers
Happy Feet Two
2011
as Seymour (voice)
The Informer
2019
as Grens
Date Night
2010
as Collins
New Year's Eve
2011
as Soldier
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2021
as Self
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
2012
as Coach Cal
Breathe
2024
as Darius
Unity
2015
as Narrator (voice)
Just Wright
2010
as Scott McKnight
Megan Leavey
2017
as Gunny Martin
The Tale
2018
as Martin
X/Y
2014
as Jason
Wick Is Pain
2025
as Self
Barbershop: The Next Cut
2016
as Jabari
Selma
2014
as James Bevel
Being Charlie
2016
as Travis
One World: Together at Home
2020
as Self
All About Nina
2018
as Rafe
Saint Judy
2018
as Benjamin Adebayo
Fool's Paradise
2023
as The Dagger
Every Secret Thing
2014
as Devlin Hatch
Pawn
2013
as Jeff Porter
The Words That Built America
2017
as Self - Reader: Declaration of Independence
Alice
2022
as Frank
Brown Sugar
2002
as Self
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
2005
as Self
A Happening of Monumental Proportions
2017
as Daniel
LUV
2013
as Uncle Vincent
BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration
2016
as Self - Performer
![Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw300%2FiJoIAh8NaChoVN0GRYVHaa4Yxlq.jpg&w=1920&q=65)
Kanye West: College Dropout [Video Anthology]
2005
as Self (segment "Two Words") / Airline Employee (segment "All Falls Down")
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
2023
as Self
Love Beats Rhymes
2017
as Coltrane
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
2011
as Self
Chasing Trane
2017
as Self - Musician
You're Watching Video Music Box
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Here and Now
2018
as Ben
Beef
2003
as Self
Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
2015
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
2012
as Self
Chris Rock: Road To Live Special
2023
as Self
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause
2026
as Self
Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince
2020
as Self
Chamber Check: Evolution of a Fight Scene
2017
as Self
The Wiz Live!
2015
as The Bouncer
Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central
2024
as Self
Dave Chappelle's Block Party 2
as Self
The Price of Protest
2019
as Self (archive footage)
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
2016
as Self
Diane Warren: Relentless
2025
as Self
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records
2013
as Self
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
Brave New Voices 2010
2010
as Himself - Host
Hate to See You Go
Killing Me Softly with His Songs
2022
as Self
Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life
2007
as Self
Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott
2025
as Self
Hip-Hop and the White House
2024
Bouncing Cats
2010
as Narrator
The Notorious B.I.G BET Official presents
2005
Letter to the President
2005
as Self
A Most Beautiful Thing
2020
as Narrator
Two Trains Runnin'
2016
as Narrator
Feel Rich: Health Is the New Wealth
2017
as Himself
Between Riverside and Crazy
2023
as Junior
Pete Rock: Soul Survivor
1998
as Common
Music
2010
as Self
Paragraphs I Manifest
as Self
Soundz of Spirit
2005
as Self
The Legacy of J Dilla
2023
as Self - Rapper; Friend
Godfathers and Sons
2003
as Self
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association
as Self/Narrator
Misdirection: The Real Magic
2017
as Narrator
We're Still Here (Now).... A Documentary about nobody
2016
as Self
Black America Again
2016
as Himself - Street Performer
Alicia Keys: Unplugged
2005
as Self
5 Sides of a Coin
2004
as Himself
Bilal: Live at Glasshaus
2024
as Self
Letter to the Free
2016
About Common
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), r… With 150 credits spanning from 1975 to 2026, Common has appeared in 96 films and 54 TV shows.
Fans searching for Common movies, Common filmography, or the latest projects starring Common can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Common Movies
- John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) — as Cassian
- Now You See Me (2013) — as Evans
- Ocean's Eight (2018) — as Common
- American Gangster (2007) — as Turner Lucas
- Hunter Killer (2018) — as RA John Fisk
Where to Watch Common Films
Most Common movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Common, check our movies catalogue and browse page.