Our cover gentlemen may have killer credentials, but neither has mass murdered the box office…yet. Running and gunning together in Wanted, the two are finally shooting for the stars. Duck down!

By Nate Denver; Photographs by James Dimmock

At one point or another in your younger days—possibly while playing Sega or watching Robotech—you bit into a Kudos bar and thought... What the hell do Kudos have to do with granola?

James McAvoy and Common, two talents well familiar with critical accolades know the answer: Kudos are good for you and they’ll satisfy your hunger, but they’re not sugary sweet.

For a young man with a young screen career, McAvoy could not be more lauded. The 29-year-old Scotsman received British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations for The Last King of Scotland and Atonement. Across the pond, the latter also earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. His co-star, rapper-turned-actor Lonnie Rashid “Common” Lynn, 36, has several Grammy nods (and one actual gold phonograph) under his belt. He’s only appeared in a handful of movies, but his albums Resurrection and Be are certified rap classics. Despite the kudos, neither McAvoy nor Common has enjoyed the sweetness of blockbuster success.

But this summer, all that is set to change thanks to Wanted, the cinematic adaptation of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones’s graphic novel of the same name. Rife with guns, sex, violence, more guns, and then some bigger guns just in case, Wanted is a criminally minded epic that tells the tale of Wesley Gibson (portrayed by McAvoy, despite originally bearing an uncanny resemblance to Eminem in the comic), a pencil-pushing corporate cog who discovers innate superpowers that make him an ideal assassin. He links with a guild of like-minded individuals, including Fox (Angelina Jolie) and the Gunsmith (Common). Needless to say, mayhem ensues and mad blood doth spill. But in the meantime, Complex caught up with the critical darlings to discuss nihilism, superpowers, and Common’s beef with white boys on the Bulls.

What do you feel is the value of nihilistic art, whether in hip-hop or movies?

Common: Well, I gotta learn what “nihilistic” means.

Someone or something who doesn’t believe in anything, rejects all moral conventions…

James McAvoy: No hope.

The killer is a nihilist.

James McAvoy: The character, to be honest with you, is less nihilistic. He doesn’t kill indiscriminately, it’s fate telling him to do it. It’s not the same, really—I don’t think I would have gotten involved if it was, to tell you the truth. Common: I’m an advocate for hope and I always feel like there’s hope; I don’t know why, that’s just what I believe. I don’t know if it’s my spiritual belief that makes me know it’s always hope, but I definitely didn’t feel that Wanted left no hope.

Did you trip out on your character looking like Eminem?

James McAvoy: No, not at all. If anything, it made me want to do my own thing with it. Because casting Eminem—there’s just no point in going that way. So we talked about cutting my hair off and dying it bleach-blond, but I was like, “That’s never gonna happen.” ’Cause we’re not doing an impression of Eminem.

Was it more fun to film in Chicago or the Czech Republic?

James McAvoy: Chicago is a fun town, but we weren’t there for long and it was all night shoots. In Prague... Common: Prague, dude, I had a good time. It was one of the funnest times of my life. Just hanging out, filming, working, and relaxing; I sat by the river, looked at the bridge, and drank wine. We’d go out... James McAvoy: Sangria. [Laughs.] Common: [Laughs.] Yeah, drinkin’ sangria, just kickin’ it. We even went go-karting.

If you were given mega-strength in real life, along with a crew of people who would cover all your tracks, would you do good or bad?

James McAvoy: I’m sure I’d do something that wasn’t very good. I hope I’d be a good enough person not to fuck up too much. Power corrupts, though, it really does. Common: [Laughs.] We all misuse power at some point or another. Some of the times I get power, I see myself misusing it. If I had powers, I would do my best to do right in the world, but like James says, you’re gonna mess up a little bit, do something sneaky. But overall you just wanna do right. That’s what life is.

What kind of superpower would you want?

James McAvoy: Do you know, man? Common: Yeah, I think I would want to be able to create anything with my mind, so if I visualize it, I can create it. So that means I can do a lot of shit. James McAvoy: Cool, man. I think time travel or teleportation, that kind of thing. Common: Yeah.

I would want to be able to talk to animals like Dr. Dolittle. They could do my bidding.

James McAvoy: Nice. Common: Wow.

If you could talk to animals, what would you have them do, or do with them?

James McAvoy: I would become the most fucking kick-ass animal wrangler in Hollywood. [Both laugh.] “Pick up that cigar, light it, and put it in Rashid’s mouth.” [Both laugh.] Common: For me, I don’t know what I would have ’em do, but I would want to be amongst the lions. I don’t know if it’s hunting or whatever, but I’ve always wanted to be a lion, like that kingly attack. They’re beautiful, too; panthers and stuff are beautiful too.

James, how has being a classically trained actor helped or hindered you?

James McAvoy: I don’t think it’s hurt me—sometimes it would have been easier just to think of it as my job, just turn up and say my lines.
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