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It's 'Hell on Wheels' for brothers in arms By Kate O'Hare © Zap2it Stampede winds down, work continues on the Transcon- tinental Railroad, or at least the version being built in the fictional world of AMC's Sun- day sophomore drama "Hell on Wheels." "It's hot right now," says As the 2012 Calgary star Anson Mount, calling from the Alberta, Canada, city, "and we're dealing with the mass confusion that is Stampede." Mount plays Cullen Bo- Elam directly. He's led men before, and Elam hasn't. He realizes you don't lead a man by beating him into submission. You lead a man by letting him choose when he comes around and then slowly allow him to take the reins of his own destiny. "What makes the whole "He doesn't face off with America, if you think about it." easier for Elam to find Cullen's humanity if his grief over losing his family didn't cause him to stuff it so far down. "He doesn't let a lot out," Of course, it would be hannon, a former Confeder- ate soldier trying to escape his haunted past. He has become attached to the trav- eling community of vice and corruption that follows the Union Pacific Railroad work- ers as they march across the country on the way to meeting the Central Pacific Railroad and linking the two coasts of the recently reuni- fied nation. Along the way, Bohannon series work in terms of its brand is the fact that you have a huge group of men here who had, only months before, been trying to kill each other or owning each other. Suddenly they're in a situation where, to some degree, they're equal. "When you're getting paid to heave a sledgehammer, it doesn't matter what color your skin is or where you're from; you've got to get the job done. "It's a really phenomenal framework for a Western." Taking a break from has forged a link of his own with biracial emancipated slave Elam Ferguson (Com- mon). They may have come from different worlds in the former Confederacy, but their fates are intertwined as the now United States of America struggles to remake itself. "In a lot of ways," Mount says, "it's the most interest- ing relationship in the series. Cullen ends up having a position for the railroad that Elam covets, and it's interesting watching how the writers have Cullen deal with that. shopping in a local health food store, rapper-turned-ac- tor Common sees how the two characters have found a basis for, if not exactly friendship, then a sort of ac- commodation. "We're from different parts of the world," he says. "We've got some similarities, but we've got some differ- ences. I don't know if it's a bromance, because at the end of the day, (for Cullen) to be a slave master and Elam to be a slave, he's definitely coming from a dif- ferent angle. "But then to find the simi- larity, to find the connection somewhere, is something in itself, too. Honestly, it rep- resents certain aspects of Common says of Cullen. "He's not that expressive. But intuitive people, and people that have some spirit, can see beyond that. You could see that he has some- thing under there that's hu- manity, and I think he wants good for people. "He's not a bad guy; let's put it that way." In the Season 2 premiere, on his way to an uncertain fate, Bohannon went from humming to singing "Dixie." According to Chicago native Common, that's his Tennes- see-born co-star's only vocal talent. "I definitely don't think he can rap," he says, "but he can sing. Ask him about his singing. I think I might have taught him a little bit, just about hip-hop even more. I think he knows about it, not just hip-hop, but somewhat of black culture. "He's been telling me about the southern Tennes- see culture, of the white people in Tennessee." sertion about his lack of rap ability, Mount says, "Me? That's bulls..., because I've never tried to rap around him, unless I was really drunk and don't remember it. I think he's making a cul- tural assumption about the Southern boy in the cast. Asked if this means that Told of Common's as- he really can rap, Mount declares, "I'm saying, right here, right now, I challenge Common to a rap-off. I chal- lenge Common officially right here. You heard it first." But the actors have learned from each other. "He's very precise and experienced," Common says. "I've definitely learned from that. By the same token, I enjoy being kind of raw and natural about things, but still prepared, because it allows me to be free with it also." "I'm definitely learning from Common," Mount says, "how to be more intuitive and to be less technical sometimes. I take my work very seriously and at times, too seriously. And Common is really better about enjoy- ing himself and his time on the set. "He helps me do that as well." Catch the Craze & Save! Save on Rentals • Breakfast Get Free Glass Cleaner Save on a Quilt Find these great savings plus more on Coupon Craze! In The Goshen News every Monday, Online everyday! Nobody covers your hometown better 114 S. Main St., Goshen 574-533-2151 www.goshennews.com Employment Ad Today! Place Your Over 3,500 resumes are posted on monster.com in The Goshen News readership areas. 574-533-2151 ext. 398 goshennews.com / I FOUND IT! Whether you are looking for the latest garage sale bargain, a reliable car, a home or a new job. You are sure to find what you want in the classified section of … Common stars in "Hell on Wheels" Sundays on AMC. 2 The Goshen News • Viewer's Choice • August 20, 2012 - August 26, 2012 Nobody Covers Your Hometown Better!

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