“Hope the people can enjoy the movie and feel inspired to make some change.”
We recently had the chance to sit down with Common and Lamorne Morris who star in the newest installment of the Barbershop series, Barbershop: The Next Cut. The guys gave an insight on working with big stars like Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, JB Smoove, Nicki Minaj and more. They discussed the issues neighborhoods in the U.S. face in today’s age, what community means to them, dishing out their improv skills and the message they want their movie to spread.
How did you come into this fold? You got a phone call one day saying if you wanted to be part of this?
Common: Yeah I got a phone call saying would [you] be interested in being a part of Barbershop the next installment, The Next Cut and you know I was open to it and my agent was like you should check it out because it’s cool. I read the script and was like ‘wow I really like this,’ like it had a heart to it that I really love seeing in movies a lot something that has heart the script was already fun. You know I’m from Chicago so it held a special place for me for that purpose too. What the subject matter was about and the fact that it was dealing with community and fatherhood and the community empowering itself to overcome the violence was to me a fun way to be a part of this franchise.
Were you familiar enough with the first two films?
Common: Yes, well I was familiar with the first one. I honestly didn’t even see the second one. I won’t just say I’m going to be a part of something, [the movie] led me to wanting to check out the script and see what it was. The cast too led me to saying ‘hey I’m interested in this; this is something that can be exciting.’ To me it’s all about the story, the script, the people that I’m surrounding myself with, the film maker, the director. All those elements made me say yes I want to do this.
And there’s this guy Cube too.
Common: Yeah of course Ice Cube. The make up of things is Ice Cube. You have Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Nicki Minaj coming in, Lamorne, JB Smoove, Deon Cole so to me it’s like an all star team of comedians and talented people that can bring charisma and fun to the screen.
Did you learn to cut hair?
Common: I did a little bit but I don’t know if you would want me to cut yours.
This movie is a lot about community. What do you do in your community right now to help?
Common: Well right now I have a foundation called The Common Ground Foundation which started actually in 2007. Our focus is empowering youth through creative arts and academic programs. We have programs that run with the kids for twice in a month to two weekends a month and then we have a summer camp that goes on in July. Basically its just giving them a chance to think about what their dream may be, help fulfill their dreams, give them that village support. Some of them are coming from tough neighborhoods, so just to say ‘hey you can do it’ and give them some academic support, because a lot of our instructors are teachers that come from an academic background. My mother’s one of the visionaries that helps it and she is part of Chicago’s board of education for like since I’ve been living, before I was born she was a teacher then she became a principal. That’s the first organized thing that I have but I support organizations in Chicago, we go back and just to speak. To me part of helping the community is just being an example and also being present so that’s what I do my best to do.
I want to kind of piggy back off of the community again, I know that this is something that happens in Chicago and I know that you’re very active in a lot of the things that happen, but this is something that happens in communities all over the world. I actually lost my father last January to gun violence at an event that I was at and six people were shot and two people died innocent bystanders, so there were things that happened in the film that just triggered me. What do you want people to walk away with? How do you want this to effect positive change in our communities?
Common: First of all I’m sorry to hear that. Man, I mean Chicago we don’t only want to see change in Chicago we want to see it all over. I think Chicago is an example of an American city and what goes on in the city. We want people to leave feeling like ‘man we can be part of that change, we can help people and we can help our communities by just being loving to each other and being respectable to each other.’ When we do see something going wrong maybe trying to help, you know sometimes it takes just grabbing up a young person and saying ‘hey man you ain’t even got to get on that route.’ Basically I want people to leave feeling first of all have fun too, but to also be inspired to be like man I can go actually help change my community and better it and I’m going to figure out how I can be a part of that.
You’re from Chicago too right?
Lamorne Morris: I am.
Do you think this film captures or says anything particular about Chicago?
Lamorne Morris: I think it does, but I think it says something about America as well. I was born on the south side of Chicago until I was about 15, then I moved to the western suburbs so I could see the difference. When you’re living in it you’re like ‘this is normal this is what everything looks like, this is my surrounding this is my community’ and then when you leave you kind of see a way, how can things be different. It’s almost like you’re getting information. So for me this movie was intense because you see certain things. I remember people being shot in a barbershop. My best friend was robbed in a barbershop and after they robbed him as they were leaving the just shot in it. Nobody got hit but it was just like ‘while we’re at it.’ Certain things become senseless and it becomes almost like a nightmare at certain points, but the cool thing about this is movie is that it kind of offers a viable solution to a certain extent where it starts from within. Like Common was talking about his organization, this movie kind of hits on a small thing, but if barbers were to say ‘hey you know we’re going to give out free haircuts for a while’ I feel like some people would go ‘that’s not a bad deal like everybody get a free cut.’ That’s one reason why I really like the movie. It’s hilarious.
What do you think it is that draws everybody back to a barbershop like you said you know people who got robbed in them. I’m pretty sure you know some bad stuff that goes on in barbershops? What is it that still makes it a community center?
Lamorne Morris: You got to get a haircut.
Now its multi-dimensional because in this film we see the hair salon as well and I’ve seen that a lot of places they have the hair salon and the barbershop joined together with the men and the women and you guys also touch on relationships you know real life situations where there is a married couple and then there’s this young hot girl that comes in there and you’re like “baby I’m a man.” Kind of talk about that and how you guys were able to really support strong black men and kind of show what that looks like on film.
Common: Well I think the barbershop and the beauty shop as Lamorne said you got to get your hair done and we all want our hair done. For me to get a balding I sit there and make sure it’s done right that is something that we all feel. Participating and going to the barber or the beauty shop you really do get a sense of community. For me I sit and talk with my barber about anything I could talk about girls, I can talk to him about spirituality, I’ll play music, I’ll be saying raps to him and say like ‘yo you like this? You like that?’ It’s that type of intimate relationship that you get with barbers that the community gets with barbers and beauty shops where you talk about different things and you really get a peek into what’s going on. In this movie you get a peek into what’s going on in the community in a way because you get to see some of the real discussions, like people do talk about politics in the barbershop, people do talk about women and women discussing what happened with men and relationships. I think it is a place of community and you really get to just open up and share a lot of different things and you might only do that with your barber or beautician, but it happens and you get to see what’s going on with different people from different parts of the neighborhood. Honestly I used to go to a barbershop that wasn’t even in my neighborhood sometimes, but you still commune with those people, so it’s like getting a pulse of what’s going on in the city and the barbershop.
Lamorne Morris: This might be inappropriate but I saw my first porno in a barbershop. I really did this is not a joke.
What does community mean to you?
Lamorne Morris: Community means family to me. It used to be a time where certain families would be the community so you’re raised in your house, your mom, your dad, brothers and sisters and this is your little tribe I guess. Community now could be, it gets bigger and expands so I guess it’s just a place to help you grow, your trust center. That’s kind of what it means to me, more so just family at the root of it. When I first started the movie it was a lot of nervousness meeting Common, Cube, Ced and all of these different people on your on pins and needles trying to fit in, and then you see how open they are and then by week one we developed our own community here where it almost seemed like a real barbershop. We would go into work every day, you would sit down, you would get your station ready and then you had different extras coming in who you’re going to cut that day.
We are introduced to the young actor who plays Ice Cube’s son and I saw this young actor in a film in Sundance a couple years ago, LUV, and I was blown away by him. I love that he has been able to garner this amazing acting career. He’s incredible. Talk about working with him again and what it’s like being able to mentor a young really talented young brother in the industry.
Common: It’s fun. Michael Rainey Jr. is the kid I worked with in LUV, then I think he was 11-years-old and he had done a movie speaking Italian. The dude was bringing me beats he was making while we were on set when we were doing LUV. When I found out he was cast in Barbershop I was really happy I knew that he had been working a lot, but to see him its something, it’s like watching not your son but a child growing from 11 to 14 it’s a big difference and to see him now he was swagged-out and wanted to challenge me at different things. Before it was like ‘Common you’re like my uncle’ and now its like ‘yo you want to hoop against me I’ll kill you.’ It’s good to see him as a young man growing up and seeing him in different characters and knowing he’s done Orange is the New Black. He’s just a talented dude, his mother keeps him in the right place, smart guy and I’m just proud of him and looking forward to seeing how he continues to grow.
Is there any special trick to working in comedy ensembles cause every time I see New Girl I’m just astonished by how fast all of you talk and keep the jokes coming and keep bouncing off of each other and this has a slightly different vibe to it but is there a particular trick?
Lamorne Morris: It’s just getting to know each other. I came from a sketch comedy and improv comedy background in Chicago in Second City and when you’re with that same group of people you are going to be with that same group of people forever, so when you go on stage I already know what you’re going to say. Therefore I’m three steps ahead so when you say something I know how to respond and you know how to respond cause you know what I’m going to say because it’s almost like community again where I know everything about everyone in this room. I know how to push your buttons and you knows how to push mine. On our show we literally mess with each other and we try our best to make another actor break character. If we do it it’s kind of like we don’t care about what else we shoot we just know that you’re a terrible actor. Everyday when I leave work Jake Johnson, who’s also from Chicago, will if he makes me laugh will leave and whisper to me and go ‘you’re a dog s*** actor,’ it’s all the time. So in this movie I went into it kind of going well I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fit right in there because this movie has powerhouse funny people and so it started off scripted a little bit and once you see Cedric gunning it then you know it’s like ok it’s a free for all.
You guys are both new to this series. Could you very briefly introduce your characters? Like you said Cedric just takes off were you aloud to run with it too or did you have to stick more to the script?
Common: My character’s name is Rashad and he comes in and he’s a friend of Calvin’s, he’s a new character in the story but the backstory is he’s been a friend of Calvin’s. He has his son and he just moved in with him and he’s married to Eve’s character Terri and he represents the strong black man in the Barbershop to a certain degree but is still a real down to earth type of person. I was able to improv but I honestly was learning from these guys cause for me it was like watching musicians that can improve like what we do in the freestyle like in a cypher because each time you’ll be like ‘damn they coming with new lines, they coming new things’ so it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I wasn’t trying to hop in there with them like knowing all the jokes cause they did throw me a couple of jokes.
Lamorne Morris: My character’s name is Jerrod and he’s new to the shop as well. He’s a college student and Calvin kind of took a chance on him even though some of his views differ from the men’s side of the barbershop. He’s all about women empowerment so sometimes when different things are being thrown in the barbershop he’s the one to say ‘well….’ and they kind of shut him down a little bit. As far as jumping in there with those guys I knew right away I had to because the audition process was just ‘go, gun it lets see what you got as far as improv goes.’ Then Ice Cube pulled me to the side and was like ‘hey man you know we brought you here for a reason’ so first day I got to admit I was a little intimidated and just kind of tried to stay on script but then they pulled me to the side and said ‘hey man listen we didn’t bring you here just to look good we would have hired somebody else for that. We hired you cause you’re funny so do that.’ So I would just jump in when one works you get the confidence to keep trying other ones.
You guys have the platform that you are obviously influencers. What do you think it’s going to take to actually enact these changes that were shown in the movie? In the movie we get a happy ending and everything’s on the right path, but the reality of the situation is everybody’s not getting it. I just saw a crazy video on Facebook Chicago where this guy got shot on Facebook Live.
Common: Yeah I heard about it. I think it’s going to take a lot of work. I mean we put art out there as something to help inspire and help bring awareness to things and also just to entertain, but it has to go beyond the art. You got to be active in the community and finding out what really communities need. From my observation it’s always been jobs and opportunities [that are] helpful [in] bringing peace to people because when you got jobs and money it’s less time to go do other crazy things. We also got to help support our educational system and educating the young ones in a better way giving them chances to have programs and stuff that they could participate in. Those are just some of the things I don’t have all the solutions I don’t think our movie offers all the solutions but were doing our best to put out there the right energy and good energy and hope the people can enjoy the movie and feel inspired to make some change.
