Tahar Rahim | |
|---|---|
 Rahim in 2014 | |
| Born | (1981-07-04)4 July 1981 (age 43) Belfort, France |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a French actor. His breakthrough performance was in the 2009 French filmA Prophet, for which he won theCésar Award for Best Actor andMost Promising Actor. He then starred as FBI agentAli Soufan in the miniseriesThe Looming Tower andJudas in the filmMary Magdalene (both 2018).
Rahim garnered critical acclaim and nominations for theGolden Globe Award and theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for portrayingMohamedou Ould Salahi inThe Mauritanian (2021).[1][2] He received anotherGolden Globe Award nomination for portrayingCharles Sobhraj in the miniseriesThe Serpent (2021). Rahim has since portrayedPaul Barras in the period filmNapoleon (2023) andEzekiel Sims in theSony Spider-Man Universe filmMadame Web (2024).
Rahim was born inBelfort, France, to a family fromOran,Algeria.[3]
After earning aBaccalauréat at theLycéeCondorcet 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 thePaul Valéry University ofMontpellier. His life as a film student was chronicled in adocufiction by fellowBelfortainCyril Mennegun titled "Tahar, student", aired on French TV channelFrance 5 in 2006.
Following this, Rahim moved to Paris in 2005 and studied drama at theLaboratoire de l'Acteur underHélène Zidi-Chéruy while working in a factory during the week, and in a nightclub at weekends, to make ends meet.
In mid-2006, after signing with an agent, Rahim won a part in the hitCanal+ television seriesLa Commune written byAbdel Raouf Dafri.
After a two-line appearance in the 2007 horror movieInside starringBéatrice Dalle, he went through a gruelling three months of auditioning. After eight callbacks, he landed his breakthrough role.[4][5]
Rahim also starred in Chinese directorLou Ye's filmLove and Bruises. The controversial director had twice been banned by the Chinese government from making movies. The director likely met Rahim at the2009 Cannes Film Festival, where they were presentingSpring Fever andA Prophet, respectively.Love and Bruises is the adaptation of the banned biography ofJie Liu Falin.
Rahim also starred inFree Men, the biopic aboutSi Kaddour Benghabrit, the French-Muslim founder of theGreat Mosque of Paris, directed byIsmaël Ferroukhi ofLe Grand Voyage fame.[6]
In 2015, Rahim was selected to be on the jury for theUn Certain Regard section of the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[7] He later starred in the European crime drama television seriesThe Last Panthers.[8]
In 2018, he appeared asJudas in the filmMary Magdalene, written byHelen Edmundson.[9] In the U.S. that year, he had a starring role as FBI agentAli Soufan inThe Looming Tower miniseries.
In 2021, he was nominated for aGolden Globe for portrayingMohamedou Ould Salahi inThe Mauritanian, set among detainees at the US camp at Guantanamo.[10] Rahim also served as a jury member at the74th Cannes Film Festival.
Rahim playedPaul Barras inRidley Scott'sNapoleon (2023), starringJoaquin Phoenix, forApple TV+.[11] He played the characterEzekiel Sims in theSony's Spider-Man Universe filmMadame Web.[12] In 2023, Rahim was announced to be playing French singerCharles Aznavour.[13]
Rahim is married to fellow French actressLeïla Bekhti, whom he met while filmingA Prophet in 2007. Together they have four children.[14][15][16][17][18]
In June 2024, Rahim signed a petition addressed to French PresidentEmmanuel Macron demanding France to officially recognize theState of Palestine.[19]
| 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 inPictish 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 asThe 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 | |
| TBA | Alpha † | Post-production |
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| 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 |
