Rapper savors 'Wheels' role

NEW YORK — The history of slavery in America is one of resistance and rebellion.

Yet movies and television don’t necessarily showcase such themes.

That’s why the rapper Common is excited about the new AMC series Hell on Wheels, a Western chronicling the building of the transcontinental railroad.

Common plays Elam Ferguson, a former slave of mixed race who works on the rail system.

Portraying a slave is a big deal, he said, particularly because his character defies pop-culture stereotypes.

“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,” said Common, who was born Linnie Rashid Lynn Jr.

“(My character) has been through a lot of things but is holding his head up high and his shoulders are up strong.”

His agent suggested he read the Hell on Wheels script.

The character, Common said, is more complex than any other he has portrayed.

To prepare for the part, the Grammy-winning entertainer read about African slaves of the 19th century and visited former plantations in the South.

In filming the show, Common said, he struggled 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.”

The series, filmed in Canada, centers on Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who is avenging the death of his wife.

Bonhannon, who set his slaves free a year before the Civil War, takes a job overseeing the workers on the transcontinental railroad.

Common — who appeared in American Gangster, Smokin’ Aces and Terminator Salvation — said the issues raised in the series remain pertinent today.

“Along with it just being entertaining and being fresh,” he said, “it’s an important show.”