Although Common received mixed reviews for his first leading role in a film with Just Wright, looks like it was just good enough. AMC, the cable network that created the hit show “Mad Men,” officially confirmed today that Common has been cast in the period drama “Hell on Wheels.” Show is centered around  the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the West. According to DHD, Common will play Elam, a newly freed slave who comes west seeking work on the railroad and his place in the world but as a half black, half white man he does not completely belong to either world.

“Common brings a layered intensity to a very complex role,” AMC’s SVP programming Joel Stillerman said. “This part required someone who can transcend the stereotypes of the period and bring the character to life in a truly unique way, and he brings that.”

The show is set to begin production in August in Alberta, Canada. No official air date has been announced yet. If the show does get picked up by AMC after the pilot episode, it would be Common’s first regularly appearing role in a TV show.