Rapper/actor Common is making plans to take Broadway by storm in a bid to become a member of the elite EGOT club.
Common secured his third Grammy Award and his first Oscar with his John Legend collaboration Glory, which was written for Ava DuVernay’s 2014 civil rights movie Selma, and he is currently nominated for an Emmy Award for his song Letter to the Free, which features on the soundtrack to the female director’s criminal justice reform documentary 13th.
“I will say I was very honoured and grateful, I was joyous when I realised that we were nominated for Letter to the Free with the Emmy (sic),” Common told U.S. breakfast show Today of his Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics nod.
If he strikes gold at next month’s (Sep17) Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, the hip-hop star will be one step away from collecting all four major performance honours, known as an EGOT – with the final prize being the Tony Award for achievements on Broadway.
Common reveals he is working on landing his first Tony nomination, because scoring the EGOT will be a dream come true.
“I want to have the EGOT!,” he smiled. “It’ll be EGO if I get the Emmy, but I want the EGOT, and that would be a blessing.”
“At some point, I want to write and act on Broadway,” he added, without sharing any further information of his big stage plans.
Common isn’t the only musician aiming to conquer all four entertainment industries – his pal John Legend is currently just missing the Emmy win, after August Wilson’s play Jitney, which he co-produced, was named Best Revival of a Play at the Tony Awards in June (17).
There are just 12 stars to date who have earned all four awards competitively, including Whoopi Goldberg and the late Audrey Hepburn. Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli are two EGOT stars who won at least one of the awards in a special or honorary nature.
