Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a Franco-Algerian actor. He is known for his starring role as Malik El Djebena in the 2009 award-winning French movie ''

A Prophet ''A Prophet'' (french: Un prophète) is a 2009 French prison crime film directed by Jacques Audiard with a screenplay by Audiard, with Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, and Nicolas Peufaillit, from a story by Dafri. The film stars Tahar Rahi ...

'' by

Jacques Audiard Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is the son of Michel Audiard, also a film director and screenwriter. He has won both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Fi ...

, FBI Agent

Ali Soufan Ali H. Soufan (born 1971) is a Lebanese-American former FBI agent who was involved in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases both in the United States and around the world. A 2006 ''New Yorker'' article described Soufan as coming close ...

in ''

The Looming Tower ''The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11'' is a 2006 non-fiction book by Lawrence Wright, a journalist for ''The New Yorker''. Wright examines the origins of the militant organization Al-Qaeda, the background for various terrorist attac ...

'',

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

in the film ''

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

'', and

Charles Sobhraj Charles Sobhraj (born Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj, 6 April 1944) is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief of Indian-Vietnamese descent, who preyed on Western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s. ...

in '' The Serpent''. Rahim garnered critical acclaim and nominations for the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and the

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. Superlatives Note: ...

Early life

Rahim was born in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...

, France, into a family that had immigrated from the region of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. After earning a

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

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 Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. His life as a film student was chronicled in a documentary by fellow ''Belfortain'' Cyril Mennegun titled "Tahar, student", aired on French TV channel

France 5 France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowledge network). ...

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

In mid-2006, after signing with an agent, Rahim won a part in the hit

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

television series ''La Commune'' written by Abdel Raouf Dafri. Dafri penned the first draft of the script to ''A Prophet''. Rahim then met 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 Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

'' starring Béatrice Dalle, he went through a gruelling three months of auditioning. After eight callbacks, he landed his breakthrough role. Rahim also starred in controversial Chinese director

Lou Ye Lou Ye (), born 1965, is a Chinese screenwriter- director who is commonly grouped with the " Sixth Generation" directors of Chinese cinema. Films Born in Shanghai, Lou was educated at the Beijing Film Academy. In 1993, he made his first film ''W ...

's film ''

Love and Bruises ''Love and Bruises'' is a 2011 French/Chinese drama film directed by Lou Ye. The film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Plot Adrift in Paris, Hua meets Mathieu. An intense, violent love affair begins. Hua tries to leave, un ...

''. The director, twice banned from making movies by the Chinese government, likely met Rahim at the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

where they were each presenting ''

Spring Fever Spring fever is any of a number of mood, physical, or behavioral changes which may be experienced coinciding with the onset of spring, particularly restlessness, laziness, and amorousness. Overview The term ''spring fever'' may refer to an increa ...

'' 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 Abdelkader Ben Ghabrit (; 1 November 1868 – 24 June 1954), commonly known as Si Kaddour Benghabrit () was an Algerian religious leader, translator and interpreter who worked for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the first rector of ...

, founder of the

Great Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (french: Grande Mosquée de Paris), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, is located in the 5th arrondissement and is one of the largest mosques in France. There are prayer rooms, an outdoo ...

, directed by

Ismaël Ferroukhi Ismaël Ferroukhi (born 26 June 1962) is a French- Moroccan film director and screenwriter. Ferroukhi was born in Kenitra. He gained exposure with his 1992 short film ''L'Exposé'', which won the Kodak Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Foll ...

of ''

Le Grand Voyage ''Le Grand Voyage'' is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. The film won the Golden Astor for Best Film at the 2005 ...

'' fame. In 2015, he was selected to be on the jury for the ''

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

'' section of the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

and later starred in the European crime drama television series ''

The Last Panthers ''The Last Panthers'' is a Franco-British crime drama television series created by Jack Thorne and directed by Johan Renck. It is a fictional story inspired by the notorious Balkan jewel thieves the Pink Panthers. The six-part series premiered o ...

''. In 2018, he appeared as

in the film ''

'', written by

Helen Edmundson Helen Edmundson (born 1964) is a British playwright, screenwriter and producer. She has won awards and critical acclaim both for her original writing and for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage and screen. Early life Edm ...

. In the U.S., he had a starring role as FBI agent

in ''

''. In 2021, he was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for portraying the role of

Mohamedou Ould Salahi Mohamedou Ould Slahi () (born December 21, 1970) is a Mauritanian citizen who was detained at Guantánamo Bay detention camp without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016. Slahi traveled from his home in Germany to Afghanistan ...

in ''

The Mauritanian ''The Mauritanian'' is a 2021 legal drama film based on the memoir of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was held for fourteen years (from 2002 to 2016) without charge in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a United States military pr ...

''. Rahim also served as a jury member at the

74th Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...

. In 2022, ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

'' reported that he would play the role of

Paul Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (, 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799. Early ...

in Ridley Scott's ''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'', portrayed by

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

, in 2023 for

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

. He is due to appear with

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

Rebecca Miller Rebecca Augusta Miller, Lady Day-Lewis (born September 15, 1962) is an American filmmaker and novelist. She is known for her films '' Angela'', '' Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'', ''The Ballad of Jack and Rose'', ''The Private Lives of Pipp ...

's upcoming film ''She Came to Me'' and joined

Sony's Spider-Man Universe Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the f ...

film ''Madame Web''.

Personal life

Rahim is married to fellow French-Algerian actress

Leïla Bekhti Yasmine Leïla Bekhti (born 6 March 1984) is a French film and television actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Tout ce qui brille'' (2007) and, in 2006, ''Paris, je t'aime'' and ''Sheitan (film), Sheitan''. Early life Bekhti was born in ...

, whom he met while filming ''A Prophet'' in 2007. Together they are parents to a son, Souleymane, born in July 2017, a daughter, born in February 2020 and then an unexpected third child in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

* 2007 – 2008: ''Libres sont les papillons'' in the role of the blind character Benjamin. The play was written by Leonard Gershe, directed by Hélène Zidi-Chéruy and staged at the Côté Court Theater,

11th arrondissement of Paris The 11th arrondissement of Paris (''XIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''onzième''. The arrondissement, called Popincourt, is situated on ...

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahim, Tahar 1981 births Living people People from Belfort Best Actor César Award winners Most Promising Actor César Award winners European Film Award for Best Actor winners Best Actor Lumières Award winners French male film actors French male stage actors French Muslims Male actors of Algerian descent French people of Algerian descent French male television actors 21st-century French male actors Living people