# Tahar Rahim
**Tahar Rahim** (born 1981 in Belfort, France) is a French actor of Algerian descent, known for his starring role as Malik El Djebena in [Jacques Audiard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-audiard)'s prison drama *A Prophet* (2009), for which he won both the César for Best Male Newcomer and the César for Best Actor, and for international roles in *The Looming Tower*, *The Serpent*, and *The Mauritanian*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981, Belfort, Franche-Comté, France[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) |
| Breakthrough | Malik El Djebena in *A Prophet* (Un prophète, 2009), Jacques Audiard's Grand Prix winner at Cannes[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) |
| Césars | Best Male Newcomer and Best Actor in 2010, the first such double in the ceremony's history[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) |
| International honors | Golden Globe nominations in 2021 (*The Mauritanian*, drama) and 2022 (*The Serpent*); BAFTA nomination for *The Mauritanian*[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/) • [4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf) |
| Cannes roles | *A Prophet* (Competition, 2009), *The Past* and *Grand Central* (Competition and Un Certain Regard, 2013), *Don Juan* (Cannes Premiere, 2022), *Alpha* (Competition, 2025)[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) |
| Institutional roles | Cannes Feature Film jury member 2021; president of the 48th César ceremony, 24 February 2023[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) • [4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf) |
| Recent projects | *Monsieur Aznavour* (2024), *Alpha* (2025), the Sky series *Prisoner* (2026), and *Les Misérables* as Javert (2026)[5](https://marrakech-festival.com/en/conversation/tahar-rahim/) • [6](https://www.closermag.fr/people/tahar-rahim-son-refuge-discret-a-neuilly-sur-seine-ou-il-vit-avec-leila-bekhti-et-leurs-quatre-enfants-3659305) |
## Early life and training
Rahim was born in Belfort, in eastern France, to parents who had emigrated from Algeria; his father was a factory worker at Alstom and his mother a homemaker, and he was the youngest of ten children raised in a housing estate on the outskirts of the city[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html). As an adolescent he discovered the cinema, drawn to [Jean Gabin](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-gabin) and Lino Ventura and to the American actors of [New Hollywood](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-hollywood) such as [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro), Christopher Walken, and Al Pacino[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html).
His route into acting ran through several detours, including university courses in sport, then mathematics and computer science, before he completed a cinema degree at the University of Montpellier[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html) • [8](https://www.focusfeatures.com/article/tahar_rahim__a_prince_among_actors). He moved to Paris in September 2005 to look for a drama school and entered the Laboratoire de l'acteur of Hélène Zidi, auditioning with a scene from *Tchao Pantin*[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html).
## Screen debut
Rahim's first screen appearance was in *Tahar l'étudiant* (2005), a docu-fiction by Cyril Mennegun based on his own daily life[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [9](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/16/155/39696/presse/un-prophete-2009-presskit-francais-1.pdf). He then took a small part as a municipal police officer in the horror film *À l'intérieur* by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (2007), performed on stage in 2007 in Leonard Gersh's play *Libres sont les papillons*, and gained notice as a young delinquent in the Canal+ series *La Commune* (2007)[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/). Jacques Audiard saw Rahim in *La Commune* and cast him as the lead in his next film[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [9](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/16/155/39696/presse/un-prophete-2009-presskit-francais-1.pdf). According to an account Rahim has often retold, Audiard, visiting the series' set, offered a ride back to two young actors; the one who stayed silent was the one Audiard later called back[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html).
## A Prophet and its aftermath
*A Prophet* (Un prophète) premiered in [Competition](https://www.edgepedia.org/competition) at Cannes in May 2009 and won the Grand Prix[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html). Rahim played Malik El Djebena, an illiterate young prisoner who rises within the prison's criminal order, in a performance the festival's own profile credits as his breakthrough[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/). The film received nine César awards in 2010, and Rahim took both the César for Best Male Newcomer and the César for Best Actor, a combination AlloCiné describes as a first in the ceremony's history[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf). He also won the European Film Award for Best Actor[10](https://www.unifrance.org/annuaires/personne/355218/tahar-rahim).
The immediate offers that followed were mostly typecast parts, and he spent the early years after the film declining roles as dealers, killers, small-time crooks, and convicts. In a 2014 interview with *The Observer* he stated: "I am an actor, full stop. Not an Arab actor. Not an actor of Algerian origin. Just an actor."[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html)
## Building a career across two industries
Through the 2010s Rahim alternated between French cinema and international productions. In 2011 he appeared in Kevin Macdonald's *The Eagle* with [Channing Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/channing-tatum) and in Jean-Jacques Annaud's *Black Gold* (Or noir), and played a young Algerian immigrant who aids a Jewish singer under the Occupation in Ismaël Ferroukhi's *Free Men* (Les hommes libres)[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/). He also starred in Lou Ye's *Love and Bruises* and Joachim Lafosse's *Our Children* (À perdre la raison, Un Certain Regard 2012)[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [5](https://marrakech-festival.com/en/conversation/tahar-rahim/).
In 2013 he returned to Cannes with two films: [Asghar Farhadi](https://www.edgepedia.org/asghar-farhadi)'s *The Past*, in Competition, in which he played Samir, and Rebecca Zlotowski's *Grand Central* in Un Certain Regard[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/). Farhadi said he had seen *A Prophet* in Iran and immediately knew Rahim was an actor capable of very complex roles[11](https://www.sonyclassics.com/thepast/thepast_presskit.pdf). Subsequent French roles included Samba in the Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache comedy of that name, Nazaret Manoogian, an Armenian survivor of the 1915 genocide, in [Fatih Akin](https://www.edgepedia.org/fatih-akin)'s *The Cut* (2014), a doctor in *Heal the Living* (2016), Judas in [Garth Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/garth-davis)'s *Mary Magdalene* (2018), and a gambling addict in Marie Monge's *Joueurs* (2017)[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tahar-rahim/).
On television he played FBI agent [Ali Soufan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ali-soufan) in *The Looming Tower* (2018) opposite [Jeff Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-daniels), Khalil in *The Last Panthers* (2015), and Farid in *The Eddy* (2020)[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/).
## 2020s: international recognition and wide registers
Two 2021 releases made Rahim internationally prominent. In Kevin Macdonald's *The Mauritanian* he played [Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohamedou-ould-slahi), a Mauritanian writer held at [Guantánamo Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/guantanamo-bay) for 14 years, adapted from Slahi's 2015 memoir *Guantanamo Diary*[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/). The performance brought nominations for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama and for a BAFTA[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/) • [4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf). In the BBC/Netflix series *The Serpent* he played the serial killer [Charles Sobhraj](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-sobhraj), earning a 2022 Golden Globe nomination for actor in a limited series[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/) • [13](https://hyphenonline.com/2026/05/15/tahir-rahim-french-algerian-actor-new-show-prisoner-paris/). He had long wanted to play a villain and to understand the absence of empathy[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html).
The following years ranged widely: the musical *Don Juan*, freely inspired by Molière and co-starring [Virginie Efira](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginie-efira) (Cannes Premiere 2022); the anthology series *Extrapolations* (2023); Paul Barras in Ridley Scott's *Napoleon* (2023); the Marvel production *Madame Web* (2024) as Ezekiel Sims; and the voice of Mufasa in Disney's *Mufasa: The Lion King* (2024)[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) • [5](https://marrakech-festival.com/en/conversation/tahar-rahim/) • [14](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/filmographie/).
Back in France, he played Charles Aznavour in *Monsieur Aznavour* (2024), directed by Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir. He learned singing and piano for the role, lost 6 to 7 kilograms, studied the singer's phrasing and gestures from archival footage, and sang most of the songs himself[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [15](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2024/10/22/monsieur-aznavour-ses-amours-ses-galeres-ses-rencontres_6357922_3246.html). The role earned him a César nomination for Best Actor in 2025[16](https://www.academie-cinema.org/personnes/181723/).
In 2025 he starred as Amin in Julia Ducournau's *Alpha*, which premiered in Competition at Cannes[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) • [10](https://www.unifrance.org/annuaires/personne/355218/tahar-rahim). In 2026 he took the lead as Tibor Stone in the Sky thriller series *Prisoner*, in which his character shares scenes handcuffed to Izuka Hoyle's, and was cast as Inspector Javert in Fred Cavayé's *Les Misérables*, expected in cinemas on 14 October 2026[13](https://hyphenonline.com/2026/05/15/tahir-rahim-french-algerian-actor-new-show-prisoner-paris/) • [17](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/may/05/prisoner-tahar-rahim-izuka-hoyle-handcuffed-sky-atlantic) • [6](https://www.closermag.fr/people/tahar-rahim-son-refuge-discret-a-neuilly-sur-seine-ou-il-vit-avec-leila-bekhti-et-leurs-quatre-enfants-3659305).
## Working method
Rahim's preparation is intensity-driven and role-specific. For *The Mauritanian*, after nearly declining the part because he feared another Islamist-terrorist story, he isolated himself in a room at 6 °C, sprayed himself with water to maintain the sensation of cold, and asked to experience water torture; he later said it was the only role he had difficulty leaving, leaving him disoriented for several weeks[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html). For *Monsieur Aznavour* he studied biographies, interviews, and concerts to capture the singer's phrasing, hoarse voice, and blinking habit[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html). He describes his method as dictated by each project: "Sometimes you have to go method and to compose a character and sometimes you'd better not," since a mismatch with the film's direction will show on screen[18](https://theglassmagazine.com/tahar-rahim-interview/).
His command of English as a working language came largely through the late Bob Meyer, an anglophone acting coach he prepared with for *The Mauritanian*, with whom he maintained a close relationship until Meyer's death in 2021[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html).
## Reception and honors
Rahim's two Césars and European Film Award came in a single season for *A Prophet*[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/) • [10](https://www.unifrance.org/annuaires/personne/355218/tahar-rahim). On the review aggregator Metacritic, *A Prophet* remains his highest-scoring film at 90 and *Madame Web* his lowest at 26, with a career movie average of 59[12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tahar-rahim/). In 2010 he also won the Prix Patrick Dewaere and was nominated for the BAFTA Orange Rising Star award[19](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/palmares/). He served on the Un Certain Regard jury at Cannes in 2015 and on the Feature Film jury in 2021, alongside jury president Spike Lee[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/), and presided over the 48th César ceremony at the Olympia on 24 February 2023[4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf).
## Personal life
Rahim lives in Neuilly-sur-Seine with the actress Leïla Bekhti, whom he met during the shoot of *A Prophet*, and their four children, keeping a deliberately low family profile[6](https://www.closermag.fr/people/tahar-rahim-son-refuge-discret-a-neuilly-sur-seine-ou-il-vit-avec-leila-bekhti-et-leurs-quatre-enfants-3659305).
## References
1. [Tahar Rahim : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/biographie/)
2. [Tahar Rahim, Festival de Cannes profile](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tahar-rahim/)
3. [Tahar Rahim, Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/person/tahar-rahim/)
4. [Communiqué de presse, Tahar Rahim président de la 48e cérémonie des César, Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma (5 janvier 2023)](https://www.academie-cinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cp-cesar-230105-tahar-rahim-president-des-cesar.pdf)
5. [Tahar Rahim, Marrakech International Film Festival](https://marrakech-festival.com/en/conversation/tahar-rahim/)
6. [Tahar Rahim : son refuge discret à Neuilly-sur-Seine, Closer (22 September 2026)](https://www.closermag.fr/people/tahar-rahim-son-refuge-discret-a-neuilly-sur-seine-ou-il-vit-avec-leila-bekhti-et-leurs-quatre-enfants-3659305)
7. [A l'affiche de « Monsieur Aznavour », Tahar Rahim, l'acteur studieux, Le Monde M le mag (20 September 2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/20/a-l-affiche-de-monsieur-aznavour-tahar-rahim-l-acteur-studieux_6325011_4500055.html)
8. [Tahar Rahim: A Prince Among Actors, Focus Features](https://www.focusfeatures.com/article/tahar_rahim__a_prince_among_actors)
9. [Dossier de presse Un prophète, Unifrance](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/16/155/39696/presse/un-prophete-2009-presskit-francais-1.pdf)
10. [Tahar Rahim, Unifrance](https://www.unifrance.org/annuaires/personne/355218/tahar-rahim)
11. [Interview With Tahar Rahim, The Past press kit, Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.sonyclassics.com/thepast/thepast_presskit.pdf)
12. [Tahar Rahim, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tahar-rahim/)
13. [Weekend with Tahar Rahim, Hyphen (15 May 2026)](https://hyphenonline.com/2026/05/15/tahir-rahim-french-algerian-actor-new-show-prisoner-paris/)
14. [Tahar Rahim : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/filmographie/)
15. [« Monsieur Aznavour » : ses amours, ses galères, ses rencontres, Le Monde (22 October 2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2024/10/22/monsieur-aznavour-ses-amours-ses-galeres-ses-rencontres_6357922_3246.html)
16. [Tahar Rahim, Académie des César](https://www.academie-cinema.org/personnes/181723/)
17. [Prisoner: Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle on being handcuffed together, The Guardian (5 May 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/may/05/prisoner-tahar-rahim-izuka-hoyle-handcuffed-sky-atlantic)
18. [Tahar Rahim: The Art of Becoming Someone Else, The Glass Magazine](https://theglassmagazine.com/tahar-rahim-interview/)
19. [Tahar Rahim : Récompenses et nominations, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-171899/palmares/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › French actors › Surnames N to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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