Common Teases ‘Suicide Squad’ Role & Jared Leto’s The Joker

The awesome cast of Suicide Squad got even awesomer when it was announced rapper-turned-actor Common had shot some scenes, with speculation that he could even be the John Stewart version of Green Lantern. Alas, those rumors were false and set photos like the one above showed a decidedly different role – The Tattooed Man aka “Monster T,” one of Joker’s henchman.

While out doing press for Barbershop: The Next Cut, he talked up the latter to Collider’s Christina Radish, revealing director David Ayer was the main reason he wanted to do the role.

I just knew that world was a gritty comic book world that I haven’t seen. I feel like, with so many comic book movies being made, I wanted to be a part of one of the ones that is special. Obviously, you want the box office and those things, but I want to be a part of the special movies.

And if I’m going to be a part of a comic movie, I don’t want it to just be the same story, where you can just place the new name and it’s the same story that you see. I’ve gotta say, one of the major reasons I knew it would be something cool and could be special is (director) David Ayer. I love his work. I got to work with him on Street Kings, but then I watched End of Watch and the dude is good, man.I was excited about working with him, being a movie with Will Smith and Viola Davis and Jared Leto, and playing opposite The Joker. I was like, “God, this is going to be exciting!”

Common – who confirmed his role was a cameo filmed over a couple days’ break from this month’s Barbershop – is not a part of the multi-million dollar reshoots taking place currently to add humor and character beats. When he wrapped, he was greeted online with the same set photos here “looking like Dennis Rodman.”

To play Monster T, he got to spend a lot of time with Jared Leto, who’s infamously method approach to the Joker included sending live rats to his co-star Margot Robbie.

I believe in that. Whatever way is necessary for you to be that person, so that you can let go and see The Joker, I love that. From the time I stepped on the set, I was my character and he was his character. There was no in between. It wasn’t like, “Hey, man, how’s your family doing?”

I saw him at the Oscars, and I saw Margot Robbie, too. It was almost the first time meeting each other. With Margot, it was a little different. But I was standing in my space, being the character, so I love that Jared Leto was doing that. The scene we have, we definitely were totally improving a lot of stuff, with some of it. Some of it, we got to improv on, but I don’t know what they’ll keep. When you’re in that space, where another actor is that person, you can just live and let it be. I was really grateful. The was one of my most fun and invigorating experiences, as an actor, with the scene I had with Jared Leto, or The Joker.

Suicide Squad hits theaters August 6.

SOURCE: Collider