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Tahar Rahim

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Tahar Rahim
Rahim in 2014
Born (1981-07-04) 4 July 1981 (age 43)
Belfort, France
OccupationActor
Years active2005–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2010)​
Children4

Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a French actor. His breakthrough performance was in the 2009 French film A Prophet, for which he won the César Award for Best Actor and Most Promising Actor. He then starred as FBI agent Ali Soufan in the miniseries The Looming Tower and Judas in the film Mary Magdalene (both 2018).

Rahim garnered critical acclaim and nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for portraying Mohamedou Ould Salahi in The Mauritanian (2021).[1][2] He received another Golden Globe Award nomination for portraying Charles Sobhraj in the miniseries The Serpent (2021). Rahim has since portrayed Paul Barras in the period film Napoleon (2023) and has a role in the Sony Spider-Man Universe film Madame Web (2024).

Early life

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Rahim was born in Belfort, France, to a family from Oran, Algeria.[3]

After earning a Baccalauréat at the Lycée Condorcet of Belfort, Rahim enrolled first in sports and then computer science programmes. After two subsequent years of boredom studying the subjects in Strasbourg and Marseille, Rahim decided to pursue his passion and began to study film at the Paul Valéry University of Montpellier. His life as a film student was chronicled in a docufiction by fellow Belfortain Cyril Mennegun titled "Tahar, student", aired on French TV channel France 5 in 2006.

Following this, Rahim moved to Paris in 2005 and studied drama at the Laboratoire de l'Acteur under Hélène Zidi-Chéruy while working in a factory during the week, and in a nightclub at weekends, to make ends meet.

Career

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In mid-2006, after signing with an agent, Rahim won a part in the hit Canal+ television series La Commune written by Abdel Raouf Dafri. Dafri penned the first draft of the script to A Prophet. Rahim then met Jacques Audiard when the two coincidentally shared a cab while leaving a set. Rahim introduced himself saying that "I knew it was Audiard and I said I was a fan but I think I was a bit silly" and was afterward very surprised that Audiard remembered him enough to contact him about A Prophet.

After a two-line appearance in the 2007 horror movie Inside starring Béatrice Dalle, he went through a gruelling three months of auditioning. After eight callbacks, he landed his breakthrough role.[4][5]

Rahim in 2012

Rahim also starred in controversial Chinese director Lou Ye's film Love and Bruises. The director, twice banned from making movies by the Chinese government, likely met Rahim at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival where they were each presenting Spring Fever and A Prophet respectively. Love and Bruises is the adaptation of the banned biography of Jie Liu Falin.

Another project he starred in was Free Men, the biopic about Si Kaddour Benghabrit, founder of the Great Mosque of Paris, directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi of Le Grand Voyage fame.[6]

In 2015, he was selected to be on the jury for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival[7] and later starred in the European crime drama television series The Last Panthers.[8]

In 2018, he appeared as Judas in the film Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson.[9] In the U.S., he had a starring role as FBI agent Ali Soufan in The Looming Tower.

In 2021, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for portraying the role of Mohamedou Ould Salahi in The Mauritanian.[10] Rahim also served as a jury member at the 74th Cannes Film Festival.

Rahim played Paul Barras in Ridley Scott's Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix, in 2023 for Apple TV+.[11] He played the character Ezekiel Sims in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Madame Web.[12] In 2023, Rahim was announced to be playing French singer Charles Aznavour.[13]

Personal life

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Rahim is married to fellow French actress Leïla Bekhti, whom he met while filming A Prophet in 2007. Together they have four children.[14][15][16][17][18]

In June 2024, Rahim signed a petition addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron demanding France to officially recognize the State of Palestine.[19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Tahar l'étudiant Tahar Docufiction
2007 Inside A policeman
2009 A Prophet Malik El Djebena
2011 The Eagle Prince of the Seal People Lines in Pictish language
2011 Les Hommes libres Younes
2011 Love and Bruises Mathieu
2011 Black Gold Prince Auda
2012 Our Children Mounir
2013 The Past Samir
2013 Grand Central Gary
2013 The Informant Redjani Belimane
2014 The Cut Nazaret Manoogian
2014 Samba Wilson
2014 Le Père Noël Le Père Noël
2015 The Anarchists Jean Albertini
2016 Daguerrotype Jean Also known as The Woman in the Silver Plate
2016 Heal the Living Thomas Rémige
2017 The Price of Success Brahim Mecheri
2018 Mary Magdalene Judas
2018 Treat Me Like Fire Abel
2019 The Kindness of Strangers Marc
2021 The Mauritanian Mohamedou Ould Salahi
2023 Napoleon Paul Barras
2024 Madame Web Ezekiel Sims
2024 Monsieur Aznavour Charles Aznavour [20][21]
2024 Smiling Hacker † Hamza Bendelladj Post-production[citation needed]
Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 La Commune Yazid Fikry 8 episodes
2015 The Last Panthers Khalil 6 episodes
2018 The Looming Tower Ali Soufan Míniseries; 10 episodes
2020 The Eddy Farid 3 episodes
2021 The Serpent Charles Sobhraj Miniseries; 8 episodes
2023 Extrapolations Omar Haddad; Ezra Haddad 3 episodes

Theatre

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  • 2007 – 2008: Libres sont les papillons in the role of the blind character Benjamin. The play was an adaption from its original English into French of Butterflies are free written by Leonard Gershe by Hélène Zidi-Chéruy who also directed and staged it at the Côté Court Theater, 11th arrondissement of Paris.

Accolades

[edit]
Award Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
British Academy Film Awards 2010 — BAFTA Rising Star Award Nominated [22]
2021 The Mauritanian Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated [23]
César Awards 2010 A Prophet Best Actor Won [24]
Most Promising Actor Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2010 A Prophet Most Promising Performer Nominated [25]
Chlotrudis Awards 2014 The Past Best Supporting Actor Nominated [26]
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards 2010 A Prophet Best Actor Won [27]
European Film Awards 2009 A Prophet European Actor Won [28]
2021 The Mauritanian Nominated [29]
Globe de Cristal Awards 2010 A Prophet Best Actor Won [30]
Golden Globe Awards 2021 The Mauritanian Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [31]
2022 The Serpent Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Film Nominated
IFTA Film & Drama Awards 2011 A Prophet Best International Actor Nominated [32]
International Cinephile Society Awards 2011 A Prophet Best Actor Runner-up [33]
London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2010 A Prophet Actor of the Year Nominated [34]
2021 The Mauritanian Nominated [35]
Lumières Awards 2010 A Prophet Best Actor Won [36]
2014 Grand Central Nominated [37]
Prix Patrick Dewaere 2010 — Honoree Won [38]
Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2022 The Serpent Best Male Actor Nominated [39]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Awards 2021 The Mauritanian Virtuosos Award Won [40]

References

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  1. ^ "Female Filmmakers Lead Nominees For London Critics' Circle Film Awards". Deadline. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Waterboarding, Starvation, and Great Acting: Tahar Rahim Could Be In the Oscar Race". IndieWire. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ^ "L'Expression - Le Quotidien - 110 km d'autoroute achevés". Lexpressiondz.com. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Tahar Rahim: "Je m'étais donné dix ans pour y arriver" - L'EXPRESS". Lexpress.fr. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  5. ^ [1] Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Dang, Simon (25 February 2010). "The Playlist: Tahar Rahim To Team With Lou Ye For 'Bitch,' Also Shooting A Biopic On French-Muslim Icon Si Kaddour Benghabrit". Theplaylist.blogspot.com. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Un Certain Regard Jury 2015". Cannes Film Festival. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  8. ^ Tv, Guardian (2 October 2015). "The Last Panthers – exclusive trailer for the Samantha Morton thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  9. ^ Hawson, Fred. "Movie review: 'Mary Magdalene' seeks to redefine distaff disciple". ABS-CBN News.
  10. ^ "Winners & Nominees 2021". www.goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (16 February 2022). "'The Serpent' Star Tahar Rahim Joins Joaquin Phoenix In Apple And Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon'". Deadline. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  12. ^ "'Madame Web': Tahar Rahim Latest To Join Sony Marvel Pic". Deadline. 3 June 2022.
  13. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (15 February 2023). "Tahar Rahim to Play French Music Legend Charles Aznavour in Biopic 'Monsieur Aznavour' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Leïla Bekhti : Savoureusement métamorphosée en femme fatale..." (in French). Pure People. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  15. ^ Marouf, Fouzia (17 May 2011). "Leïla Bekhti, aux sources de la joie". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Tahar Rahim, amoureux de Leïla Bekhti : Je crois au mariage à vie". Pure People. Paris. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Tahar Rahim papa d'une petite fille : cet événement miraculeux qui lui a permis d'assister à l'accouchement de sa compagne, Leïla Bekhti". Closer Mag. Paris. 19 February 2021.
  18. ^ ""3 children", "10 films" and "27 extra pounds": Leïla Bekhti takes stock of her last four years". Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Reconnaissance de l'Etat palestinien : qu'attendez-vous monsieur Macron ? 230 artistes lancent un appel". Libération (in French). 4 June 2024.
  20. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (15 February 2023). "Tahar Rahim to Play French Music Legend Charles Aznavour in Biopic 'Monsieur Aznavour' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  21. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (17 May 2023). "Playtime Boards Buzzy Biopic 'Monsieur Aznavour' Starring Tahar Rahim as Legendary Crooner (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  22. ^ "63rd British Academy Film Awards (2010)". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  23. ^ "74th British Academy Film Awards (2021)". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  24. ^ "Tahar Rahim | César & Nominations" (in French). Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  25. ^ "2010 Chicago Film Critics Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  26. ^ "20th Annual Awards (2014)". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  27. ^ Clarke, Donald (31 December 2010). "The Dublin Film Critics Circle waves goodbye to 2010". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  28. ^ "22nd European Film Awards (2009)". European Film Academy. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  29. ^ "34th European Film Awards (2021)". European Film Academy. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  30. ^ "Les Globes de Cristal en images". Paris Match (in French). 9 December 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  31. ^ "Tahar Rahim | Golden Globes". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  32. ^ "8th Irish Film & Television Awards (2011)". Irish Film & Television Academy. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  33. ^ Steven, Beth (17 February 2011). "2011 ICS Award Winners". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  34. ^ Child, Ben (22 December 2009). "An Education heads London critics' shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  35. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (12 January 2021). "Female Filmmakers Lead Nominees For London Critics' Circle Film Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  36. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (17 January 2010). "Philippe Lioret's Welcome takes best film Lumiere Award". Screen Daily. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  37. ^ "Prix Lumières 2014 : "Quai d'Orsay" en tête des nominations". AlloCiné (in French). 18 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  38. ^ "Tahar Rahim et Marie-Josée Croze, prix Dewaere-Schneider". Le Parisien (in French). 29 March 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  39. ^ "Nominations announced for the RTS Programme Awards 2022". Royal Television Society. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  40. ^ Hipes, Patrick (23 March 2021). "Santa Barbara Film Festival Awards: Oscar-Nominated Directors Latest Honorees". Deadline. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
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