his career, his wife, his children… what you need to know about the actor

Un acteur for me, for me, for me, formidable. Since he was revealed by the film “A Prophet” (2009), by Jacques Audiard, Tahar Rahim has undertaken a series of daring projects and transformations. Recently, it was Charles Aznavour that he slipped into, for “Monsieur Aznavour”, by Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, in theaters on Wednesday October 23. A challenge he almost refused. “When Grand Corps Malade offered me the role, I didn’t think it was for me at all. Really not,” confided Tahar Rahim at “Paris Match” in October 2024. “And Leïla told me: “No, but you do it!” »

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Of Malik El Djebena in “A Prophet” at Charles Aznavour, a look back at the journey of the actor from Belfort who became a star in the United States.

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What studies did Tahar Rahim do?

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The last of a family of ten children, Tahar Rahim, born in 1981, grew up in Belfortwhere his father, of Algerian origin, emigrated in the 1960s. As a teenager, he became passionate about cinema, notably thanks to his older brother. “My big brother, a marvel of a man, used to take care of us, the youngest, every Wednesday. He would take us to the market to buy sweets, then see a film,” said Tahar Rahim in an interview with “ Paris Match » in 2021.

« I started really “eating” movies around the age of fourteen to stave off boredom.. I loved the atmosphere of the room, but I couldn't afford to go there often. » Rather small, he managed to free ride by going under the cash register to sneak into the cinema, before being spotted by the director of the establishment. “Fortunately, a friend on the twelfth floor had a double VCR and copied everything he rented, until he created a personal video library of five hundred films. »

Despite his passion for cinema, Tahar Rahim did not immediately make it his vocation. After high school, he spent a year at sports college in Strasbourg, then a year studying computer science in Marseille.. He reconnected with his first loves by enrolling at Paul-Valéry University, in Montpellier, for a degree in cinema. And, this time, he completed his course. It was during his degree that he took his first steps in front of a camera, in the docufiction “Tahar the Student” (2005), by Cyril Mannegun.

How was Tahar Rahim spotted?

Once he obtained his cinema license, Tahar Rahim left Montpellier for Paris, where he enrolled at the Actor's Lab – theater lessons that he paid for by being a bartender. And everything happened very quickly for the young actor. Spotted by an agent, he landed a small role in the film “Inside” (2007), then he made an appearance in the series “La commune” (2007). During the press screening of the series broadcast on Canal+, Jacques Audiard came to congratulate Tahar Rahimwho, a few months later, received a call from the director's casting director.

Jacques Audiard was looking for the lead actor for his next film, “A Prophet” (2009). For several weeks, Tahar Rahim continued testing: “We did improvisation scenes to work on the material. It was the longest three months of my life because I wasn't sure if I would be chosen “, he confided to the “ JDD » in 2009. He ended up landing the role of Malik El Djebena. Role that changed his life. Presented in Cannes, “A Prophet” caused a sensation on the Croisette, winning the Jury Prize. “It was my first film, my first time at Cannes. These screenings were extraordinary,” Tahar Rahim recalled to “ Paris Match » in 2022.

“That applause at the end… In fact, I remember saying to my friends when I got home: 'I've been given way too much love. Take some.” The vase was overflowing. » But the wave of love and recognition did not stop there: Tahar Rahim won the César for Most Promising Actor, as well as the Cesar for best actor. A double which pushed the César Academy to modify the regulations, prohibiting the accumulation of nominations for the same role in several categories.

In which films did Tahar Rahim act after “A Prophet”?

Building on the success of the film “A Prophet”, Tahar Rahim began filming in France and abroad. He starred opposite Channing Tatum in the epic “The Eagle and the Ninth Legion” (2011), he shot for Jean-Jacques Annaud in “Black Gold” (2011), he was chosen by Asghar Farhadi to star the leading role in his film “The Past” (2013), then by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache to play with Omar Sy in “Samba” (2014).

We can also cite his appearance in the Franco-British series “Panthers” (2015), the American series “The Looming Twoer” (2018), the independent film “The Kindness of strangers” (2019) or even the series by Damien Chazelle “The Eddy” (2020) – in which he opposite Leïla Bekhti. Then there was the series “The Serpent” (2021), broadcast on Netflix, in which he played serial killer Charles Sobhraj, which took his career to a new level, propelling him to international star status. “It was a very big change,” he told “ Paris Match » in 2022.

Has Tahar Rahim starred in a Marvel movie?

Tahar Rahim dreamed of working in the United States. So, for several years, he went back and forth to Los Angeles, had many meetings and castings, and waited for the right offers. “ It's true that at the start I was mainly asked to play terrorists. Already even an actor who is not Arab but who is vaguely Italian is offered this kind of role… So imagine me! “, he confided to “ Paris Match » in 2022. It was ultimately the success of the series “The Serpent” which ended up opening the half-open doors of Hollywood to him.

“Abroad, I felt that I was identified a lot more,” he slipped. “And on a professional level, the offers I receive in the United States are more varied than before. It was when he finished watching “The Serpent” that Ridley Scott had the idea of ​​giving me the role of Paul Barras in his “Napoleon” (2023). » Another proof that he has become bankable in the United States: he joined the Marvel team. Tahar Rahim has indeed been chosen to play in “Madame Web” (2024), with Dakota Johnson. But the film was not really successful…

« It was even a downright cold shower,” admitted Tahar Rahim in an interview with “Paris Match” in October 2024. “I had prepared myself, but I will never regret it because I fulfilled a childhood dream. A Marvel is a pretty crazy way to get into people's homes. The problem for me is that what I read is not at all what I saw on the screen. The film is much worse than the initial promise. But that's life, sometimes things don't work out. »

Since when have Tahar Rahim and Leïla Bekhti been a couple?

Tahar Rahim not only found success thanks to the film “A Prophet” (2009), he also found love: Leïla Bekhti. “ The first time I saw Leila, I knew in the second that she would be my wife and the mother of my children. Our meeting was not love at first sight, it was written. It was our destiny,” he told “Paris Match” in 2021. Married since 2010, they had four children together, a boy named Souleïman in 2017, a girl born in 2020, then two other children born in 2021 and 2024. Children they raise far from the star system.

« I don't want my children to think that they have privilege because of their parents' profession. Never in life,” Tahar Rahim confided in the show “Sept à quatre”, in 2024. And added: “I think that protecting my children is also that. It's not to subject them to a form of notoriety or something that is not natural like when someone comes to take a photo with us and says nice things to us. » Not always easy when your name is Tahar Rahim and Leïla Bekhti, when you are at the top of French cinema.

So they find tips. “One day, my son was walking in the street, and I was on the cover of a magazine,” said Leïla Bekhti in the show “Beau geste” in 2023. “And my son obviously did not understand at all why his mother was there. » Tahar Rahim then replied: “Yes, she knew we were passing that way so she posted a photo of herself. » “That's why you really need to be with intelligent people in life,” commented Leïla Bekhti. The other constraint of their job is the distance.

“When your wife does the same job, the advantage is that she knows what it entails. I left for eight months for “The Serpent”, then for “Designated Guilty”… It’s hard for me, hard for my family, and there, fortunately they know,” Tahar Rahim told “Paris Match” in 2022. When he is filming, he calls his wife and children regularly. “So many moments which are dressings of life”, he poeticized to “Paris Match” in 2021. And he can count on the support of Leïla Bekhti: “ She is the person I trust the mostthe most demanding spectator with me. Thanks to her, I always know where I really stand. We love each other with a crazy love. »

Where Tahar Rahim lives ?

With the explosion of his career, Tahar Rahim could have left to live in the United States. “I thought about it a few years ago,” he admitted to “JDD” in 2021. “As today I receive more direct proposals and I take fewer tests, I can jump into a plane in the evening to Paris and be there the next morning. Especially since LA doesn't make me dream. » He therefore preferred to stay in Paris, and the missed opportunities didn't matter: “I certainly had to miss the opportunities that presented themselves during an evening, but it didn't matter: I prefer to live in the country where I was born and where I feel good. »