Hell on Wheels - Interview with Common

Have you watched the show yet?
I only got to see a clip of it. My first look at anything I'm doing, most of the time, I'm just so critical of it, it's not like I'm even watching it.

I'd imagine it is challenging to portray a former slave.
Very challenging. And that's why I took it on. It's a lot of responsibility because what black people went through in slavery, within that system of slavery, was really treacherous. And for me, I felt like I owed it to the people that lived during that time to bring something truthful to the character. And even just revisiting some of the experiences of it, [there] was just a lot of emotion and a lot of pain. At the same time, a lot of strength came from it. What I enjoy most about the character is the fact that he was written so strong, not as just a person that was oppressed and kept his head down.

Were outlaws in the Civil War era more badass than they are now?
I think they were a little bit more to the point at that time. It wasn't as much beating around the bush, even with the racial tension. Really, if they got a problem with you, they gonna let you know, come at you face-to-face and have a shoot-out. That's what it felt like during that time. I was coming across certain stories, there were certain slave masters, they would beat a slave to death and throw him in the woods and just keep going with their day. This is not every master, obviously. But those were the cases at certain times. The point I'm making is the whole position of being an outlaw, or being somebody that was like a gunslinger or anything at that point, it was real truth. It wasn't like you were hiding behind so many things. You just didn't have the comforts of life that we have now.

Source: Full interview @ Vulture