The Oscar Winner Who Almost Became a Life Coach

Acting was your backup plan to music. Did you have a backup if acting didn't work out?

I might have been teaching. I might have gotten into some type of coaching, life coaching, something of that nature. But also my mentality is: It's going to work. I have the faith that it's gonna work. And I'll say this, it became acting because it's something that I felt in my spirit and my soul was something that I could do and be passionate and eventually become great at. I tried other things like playing piano and although I'm a musician by vocals, I wasn't great at piano. I was like, Nah, this is not the outlet for me. This is not the expression. It had to resonate on the level that music does for me, for me to pursue it and give my time and energy, and that's what acting did.

Did your parents encourage your artistic endeavors?

My mother's a true educator, a teacher [Dr. Mahalia Hines, also a principal in the Chicago Public School system]. There wasn't a lot of art in the home. I don't even remember my mother having a record collection. I'm grateful that she gave me a foundation of education that was important because information is always great, especially when you're seeking it yourself. She used to have me read. She used to make me do book reports on my own, choose a book that I like, which led me to love writing in that way. A funny story is I was acting in a play early on, and I was in elementary school and I was in A Christmas Carol, and I played Tiny Tim, and one of my best friends, Derek, played Scrooge. After the play, my mother kept saying “Man, Derek was so good, Derek was so good.” She didn't say one thing about me. And it caused me to think, Ah, I probably shouldn't do this acting. So I had to come back to acting from that young age to in my early 20s, mid-20s to acting. But I always loved it. I loved theater. I loved going to movies, loved TV. My parents supported me, but they didn't know that I would go into the arts.

Guess it turned out all right — you’ve won an Oscar, an Emmy and three Grammys. So when are we going to get to Tony? (Oscar, 2015; Emmy, 2017; Grammy, 2003, 2008, 2016)

I love theater, and I really want to do more theater as an actor. Producing, but acting-wise I really want to do, and I want to write some plays. As I said, I have faith. And though I don't do this work like, Give me the award, give me the award. Once I do the work and put my heart and soul into it, if I'm in the talks for an award, I want it.

Is there a dream role that you would like to have on Broadway?

I've just recently come off a tour where my tour was semi-play, semi-music. A combination. It dealt with the story of the evolution of some hip-hop culture, which would be a great play because it wasn't told like a broad story. It was through the eyes of these individuals who have a love for it. But then I also am into a great musician — Gil Scott-Heron — who is a revolutionary, but also had his issues. I would love to maybe play him and be him in a play as a character. Or just play a jazz musician. For some reason that popped in my mind recently, and I think that would be a good start of a play or TV.

How about an acting project with your girlfriend, Jennifer Hudson?

Speaking of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, she's an EGOT. And won an Oscar in her first film. It would be amazing to do something with her acting-wise, like a great story. I believe we would do something really soulful and powerful when we do something on that level. But it starts with the art. I wouldn't just be like, Yo, let's just do this because it's me and you. We both would have to feel like this is a great project and we can challenge each other, grow with each other as artists and have fun together.

How about hosting a talk show like Jennifer?

Nah, nah. People who have that type of thing that can do it. That’s a real task to do that every day and be on every day and getting glammed up every day. I see the work that talk show hosts have to do. Though I do like talking to people. I would want to do more of a podcast, sit down and drink wine, eight episodes.

OK, a podcast then. What else would you like to try that you haven’t?

I would like to do some scoring for theater. I have scored something in film. I would like to score something in theater or write a play. That would be something that I haven't tried that I would love to do.

You could write something for you and Jennifer to be in together?

That'd be amazing. That'd be incredible. I wonder — would she want to do Broadway again? She did it before. I wonder — would she do it?

What is next on the agenda for Common?

There's new music that I'm planning on releasing in 2025. I have a school that's in Chicago called Art in Motion, and we've been developing a lot of great things as far as getting our kids introduced to a lot of things in the arts, like behind the scenes on films, behind the scenes in studios, what a director of photography does.