>> Stephen: ME? ME?
( APPLAUSE )
FRIENDS, MY COUNTRYMEN, MY FIRST GUEST IS AN ARTIST,
ACTOR, AUTHOR, AND ACTIVIST WHO IS NOW MAKING HIS BROADWAY DEBUT
IN THE PLAY "BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," COMMON.
♪ ♪ ♪
>> Stephen: NICE TO SEE YOU. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
>> GREAT TO SEE YOU. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
>> Stephen: ARE YOU HAVING A HAPPY TIME OF THE YEAR FOR YOU?
>> YEAH, I LOVE CHRISTMASTIME. IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A KID.
A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A JOYOUS SPACE OVERALL.
>> Stephen: AND THE STREETS ARE PACKED RIGHT NOW.
I HAVEN'T SEEN NEW YORK LIKE THIS IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS.
>> I MEAN, AND DOING BROADWAY, GETTING TO THAT THEATER DURING
THIS TIME IS A STRUGGLE SOMETIMES.
>> Stephen: I BET. # I ACTUALLY HEARD-- I WANT TO
GET TO THIS IN A MINUTE, I WANT TO GET TO THAT STORY IN A
MINUTE. I HEARD YOU HAD A LITTLE TROUBLE
GETTING TO THE THEATER ON TIME. BUT LET'S EARN IT.
EVERYONE OF COURSE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE NOW, BUT 30 YEARS AGO, WHEN
YOUR FIRST ALBUM CAME OUT, PEOPLE DIDN'T NECESSARILY KNOW
WHO COMMON WAS. YOUR FIRST ALBUM WAS, "CAN I
BORROW A DOLLAR?" THERE YOU ARE, 20 YEARS OLD.
( APPLAUSE ).
BEARD, YOU LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME.
>> MAN, PLEASE! I WISH.
>> Stephen: THAT'S CLEAN LIVING I GUESS.
>> THANK YOU. I MEAN, I DO MY BEST.
>> Stephen: YOU SAID BACK THEN A LOT OF HIP HOP ARTISTS DON'T
THINK EXPRESSING WHAT REALLY EXISTS IN THEIR LIFE IS GOING TO
GET SALES OR RESPECT, BUT TO ME THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO WIN.
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT YOU WERE THAT SELF-ASHUFERRED A
20-YEAR-OLD? BECAUSE NOT EVERY 20-YEAR-OLD
HAS THAT SENSE OF CONFIDENCE IN THEIR OWN MESSAGE, IN THEIR OWN
MISSION. >> TIFNINGS THE LOVE I GOT FROM
MY MOTHER, MY BELIEF IN GOD, MY BELIEF IN MYSELF.
AND I WAS SURROUNDED-- I WAS IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT KIND OF
ENCOURAGED ME TO BE ABLE TO BE MYSELF AND BE FREE.
SO -- >> Stephen: DESCRIBE THAT
ENVIRONMENT. ARE THESE YOUR FRIENDS?
>> THESE ARE MY FRIENDS, AND IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE A PEER GROUP,
LIKE, THAT WAS MY AGE, THAT WOULD ALLOW ME TO BE MYSELF AND,
YOU KNOW, VICE VERSA. WE ALL KIND OF SUPPORTED EACH
OTHER, YOU KNOW, AS YOUNG MEN, YOUNG BLACK MEN, JUST BEING
LIKE, "OKAY, YOU'RE INTO THIS? OKAY, COOL."
AND, "YOU'RE DIFFERENT? OKAY, COOL."
IT KIND OF PROVIDED THAT PLATFORM FOR ME TO SAY, HEY I
CAN GO OUT IN THE WORLD AND BE MYSELF BECAUSE I'M NOT AFRAID OF
WHAT PEOPLE WILL SAY, BECAUSE I HAVE LOVE HERE AT THE
FOUNDATION. >> Stephen: THAT'S
INTERESTING. I THINK-- WHEN I TALK TO YOUNG
ARTISTS...
YOUNG PEOPLE OF ANY DESCRIPTION, ONE OF THE THINGS I REALLY WANT
THEM TO KNOW IS THAT THERE'S A PLACE FOR YOU AS YOU ARE.
>> EXACTLY. >> Stephen: THERE'S A PLACE
FOR THE YOU, YOU ARE. >> THAT'S SO POWERFUL STEPHEN.
AND THE MORE WE ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TO KNOW, HEY, YOU CAN BE
AS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT. ROOTS JUST ABOUT BEING-- FINDING
THAT TRUTH WITHIN YOURSELF. AND IT TAKES-- YOU KNOW, I CAN'T
SAY I HAD IT ALL TOGETHER. AND I'M STILL GROWING AND
LEARNING. BUT AT 20 YEARS OLD, I WAS JUST,
LIKE, HEY I'M GOING TO GO ON THIS PATH.
I HAVE A BELIEF IN MYSELF. I HAVE A DREAM.
AND I FEEL A PURPOSE TO DO THIS. SO IF SOME PEOPLE SAY-- LIKE,
THAT FIRST ALBUM CAME OUT, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW THAT
ALBUM. WE TALK ABOUT IT AND CELEBRATE
IT FOR 30 YEARS NOW. I CAN CELEBRATE THE 30-YEAR
ANNIVERSARY, BUT IT WASN'T, LIKE, POPULAR OR NOTHING.
I HAD TO WORK -- >> Stephen: YOU GOT THERE.
YOU GOT THERE. THE HARD WORK, YOU GOT THERE.
30 YEARS AFTER THAT ALBUM, YOU'RE MAKING YOUR DEBUT AS AN
ACTOR ON BROADWAY. ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ).
THE SHOW IS CALLED "BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY" AT THE
HAYES THEATER. "A," WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG
TO GET TO BROADWAY? WHAT WERE YOU HOLDING BACK?
AND WHY THIS ONE? >> I WAS DREAMING OF BEING ON
BROADWAY FOR A LONG TIME, JUST DOING THEATER.
I REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO DO THEATER.
THIS PLAY, THIS WRITER, STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS IS ONE OF THE
GREATEST AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS. I READ THIS PLAY AND WAS
LIKE,s, I WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS."
I HAD TO AUDITION TO GET THE ROLE BECAUSE HE-- STEPHEN
ACTUALLY TOLD ME, HE WAS LIKE, MAN, YOU'RE TOO EVOLVED FOR THIS
ROLE." I SAID, MAN, LISTEN.
I'M NOT PERFECT MAN. I'M WORKING.
I'M TRYING TO GET MYSELF AFFECTS.
I CAN PLAY THIS CHARACTER YOU WANT."
SO I GOT THE AUDITION AND WENT IN AND DID WHAT I HAD TO DO, AND
I'M SO GRATEFUL BECAUSE THIS STORY IS LIKE A STORY WHERE YOU
MEET PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ALL GOOD, NOT ALL BAD.
AND YOU-- AND YOU MEET THIS FATHER AND SON-- IT'S BASED
AROUND A FATHER AND SON RELATIONSHIP WHERE THE MOTHER
HAS JUST DIED, THE WIFE HAS JUST DIED, AND THE FATHER AND SON
MOVE IN TOGETHER. AND THEY'RE TRYING TO BOND--
BUILD THEIR RELATIONSHIP, BUT THEY NEVER HAD A GREAT
RELATIONSHIP. AND THE SON, WHO I PLAY, I'M
BRINGING IN PEOPLE INTO OUR HOME.
AND WE ALL GOT THESE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IN OUR LIVES THAT WE
WANT TO LET GO OF. AND IT'S THIS CULMINATION OF ALL
THESE NEW YORK PERSONALITIES COMING TOGETHER IN THIS ONE
APARTMENT. AND THE GROWTH OF THAT.
AND IT DOESN'T, LIKE, IT'S-- IT'S FUNNY.
IT'S VERY FUNNY, BUT IT HAS A LOT OF DEPTH TO IT.
AND I JUST WAS LIKE, THIS IS THE TYPE OF STORY AND WRITING THAT I
WANT TO BE A PART OF. I LOVE BEING IN THAT THEATER AND
PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING BUT THEY LEAVE CHANGED.
THEY LEAVE LIKE THEY FELT SOME REAL-LIFE, RAW STORY OF PEOPLE,
AND HUMAN BEINGS THAT ARE NOT ALL PERFECT BUT WANT TO BE
BETTER. I LOOK AT WORK THAT I WANT TO
DO. THE WORK I WANT TO DO AS AN
ACTOR AND AS AN ARTIST IS WORK THAT CHANGES PEOPLE'S LIVES,
THAT INSPIRES PEOPLE, BUT ALSO ENTERTAINS.
IT'S WHAT YOU DO. ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ).
WHAT YOU DO. >> Stephen: NICE OF YOU TO
SAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> THAT'S THE TRUTH. >> Stephen: WELL --
>> CAN I TELL YOU ONE THING BEFORE YOU ASK ME A QUESTION?
>> Stephen: OF COURSE YOU CAN. >> ONE OF MY CASTMATES JUST TOLD
ME SHE HAS A CRUSH ON YOU. HER NAME IS ROSAL.
SHE SAID HE'S SO BRILLIANT, I GOT ONE OF THOSE CRUSHES ON
STEPHEN. SO I HAD TO LET YOU KNOW.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ). >> Stephen: I COULDN'T GET
ARRESTED WHEN I WAS A YOUNG ACTOR, AND I'M CURIOUS WHAT THE
FIRST PLAY YOU DID WAS, EVEN LIKE IN SCHOOL.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING YOU DID?
>> THE FIRST PLAY I DID WAS "CHRISTMAS CAROL.
THE. >> Stephen: WHAT WERE YOU IN
THE "CHRISTMAS CAROL?" >> I WAS TINY TIM.
>> Stephen: SO YOU WERE REALLY YOUNG.
>> I WAS REALLY YOUNG, FIFTH GRADE.
AND I DID THE PLAY, AND I GAVE MY SWEAT AND TEARS AND I GAVE MY
SOUL TO IT. TINY TIM HAS HEART.
AND AS SOON AS I FINISHED THE PLAY, MY MOTHER KEPT SAYING,
"BOY--" MY BEST FRIEND-- "BOY, DEREK WAS SO GOOD IN THAT PLAY.
DEREK WAS SO GOOD. I MEAN, SHE BARELY GAVE ME ANY,
LIKE, COMPLIMENT. I SAID I GUESS I BETTER DO
SOMETHING ELSE, PLAY BASKETBALL. >> Stephen: HIP HOP IT IS.
>> HIP HOP IT HAS TO BE BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T GIVE ME ANY LOVE.
NOW SHE'S BRINGING 140 PEOPLE TO BROADWAY TO WATCH THIS PLAY ON
SATURDAY NIGHT, OUR FRIEND AND FAMILY NIGHT.
( APPLAUSE )
BACK WITH MORE COMMON, EVERYBODY.
STICK AROUND.