Common has a perfectly fine career as a rapper. He's recording his new album with Kanye West and D'Angelo, and remains well-respected despite those Gap ads.

Alicia Keys is certainly doing OK as a Grammy-winning singer. She's working on a new album with Linda Perry and John Mayer, happy as can be.

So why must the stars of the new movie "Smokin' Aces" test the commitment of their fans by leaping into acting as novices?

Both said they couldn't stay away from film, for the following reasons: restlessness, artistic curiosity, and money. Not necessarily in that order.

In "Smokin' Aces," both Keys and Common play killers far on the wrong side of the law; Common is a bodyguard to Jeremy Piven's Buddy Israel gangster character, and Keys is a hitwoman out to kill Israel.

The two join a long tradition of expanding from working as simply a musician to become all-around "entertainers" — from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley to, well, Master P or Method Man or Mariah Carey.

Keys has been in theaters with her actress mother since she was 3 years old. "I think when there is something you really have a passion for and you've always had that passion for, then it's purely the next step," she said.

"So many of the greatest actor-singers — Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, you could name a trillion of them — that was who you were: You were a singer, you were an actor, you were a dancer, you did it all. You were an artist. I think now, in fact, less people have the ability to do all of those and encompass those so gracefully."

Common says he had to fight to get cast in the film, directed and written by "Narc" filmmaker Joe Carnahan. "As much as many people believe that because you're a rapper you get roles, they didn't want to see me," he said. "My agent had to fight because they didn't want people from the rap world sometimes."

Common said that while his acting has helped him write more visual rhymes, he didn't feel pressure to become a do-it-all artist. He was, however, feeling the pinch of the dollar.

"The pressure I felt was, hey, this is your only source of income right now, is making music. The music industry at any point can be like, well we love you Com, but we don't want to hear you anymore. Now I can do music in an even more relaxed state because that ain't my only source of making a living."