An emotional rollercoaster –Tahar Rahim opens up to Glass about his latest project, The Mauritanian, a film that turned his feelings inside out
OF ALL the things you’d expect to hear from Tahar Rahim, the charismatic French-Algerian star of the hit TV series The Serpent, the least likely must be: “I really wasn’t disappointed by the lockdown.” Yes, here we are on a call from his home in France analysing the bonuses that we got out of 2020.
For the 40-year-old actor, these clearly would have included filming The Mauritanian and The Serpent consecutively, two projects that have catapulted him into international limelight in a very short time. Prior to this, the actor is also known for The Past, Day of The Falcon and The Kindness of Strangers. Rahim has been married to actress Leila Bekhti since 2010 and the two shared the screen in The Prophet.
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
As award season approaches, both The Mauritanian and Rahim himself are receiving a fair amount of attention. And Rahim has received his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama for his role in the movie, the news of which he received during the shoot for Glass Man.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald and based on the New York Times best-selling memoir Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Salahi, The Mauritanian focuses on Salahi’s fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the US government for 14 years. Salahi, played by Rahim, finds support in defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley), whose battle with the US government tests their commitment to the law and their client at every turn.
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
What’s impressive about Salahi’s journey is that throughout the inhumane treatment he underwent, he still managed to maintain his humanity and bring humour to his situation. Speaking of his portrayal of such a complex character, Rahim points out how human nature evolves and changes when faced with adversity. “This man found a way to survive and turn anger into forgiveness,” he explains. “I think you can be surprised by what you’re capable of when you have to survive. I think that faith, love and the fact that he’s innocent, helped him get through this. He was dying to let the world to know that he is innocent.”
There was a gruelling method to the actor’s approach to the project when he was handed the script. Faced with a real story and a responsibility towards a man who has suffered so much, Rahim went to extreme lengths to ensure that the audience received an accurate portrayal of Salahi. “In this specific case, I thought ‘I know how far I can go with my emotions, but it won’t be enough. I have a responsibility for Mohamedou’. Usually, you find the emotion inside yourself, and you use it to reach what you want to give to your director or the performance. I knew this time wasn’t going to be like that.”
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
Ahead of filming, the actor was supposed to lose at least 10kg. His role in The Serpent, in which he plays real life serial killer Charles Sobhraj, required him to build muscle and put on weight. Back-to-back, the shoots were physically challenging. To lose 10kg, he had to live on a diet of boiled chicken breast, eggs and water – as well as also spending extended periods fasting. The regime led him to experience emotions backwards, as opposed to channelling them.
“You hang onto them and you just follow. It’s the other way around. It’s just happening,” he explains, recalling the impact this had on filming, particularly a hallucinatory scene when the protagonist sees his mother in the cell. “I said ‘we’ve got to do this, Kevin [Macdonald], we’ve got to do it’. And he said, ‘OK, we’ll do it tomorrow’. The next day, after I’d held my feelings inside myself for 24 hours, he said we couldn’t do it. So we wait until the day after; 48 hours.” It was at this point that his acting coach, Bob Mayer, stepped in. “He [went to] Kevin and said, ‘listen, if you want the guy to give you what you want, it’s now’. Kevin looked at him and said, ‘Ok, set up the next sequence’.”
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
But this wasn’t the end of it: “I was in such a strange and emotional state, and so tired,” Rahim recalls. “I said ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to do it twice, so hold your camera and just shoot, shoot, shoot until the part is over’. When we finished, I collapsed. I was lying on the floor, trying to get my energy back. It was strange, but sometimes it feels good to suffer when you’re an actor.”
Rahim had met Salahi ahead of filming and that helped him find his way into the character. “The first time I met him was on Skype. We were shooting The Serpent in Thailand, so we started talking virtually. I was struck by his sense of humour – cracking jokes all the time, being so pure, generous and full of light.”
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
When the actor started to talk about a torture scene Salahi underwent a rapid physical change. “His face started to move differently, his eyes would go all over the place, and it was hard for him to find his words. I felt bad and stupid. I was like ‘who am I to bring him back there?’ So I stopped. When you don’t know what to say, you shut up and listen – and I did.”
Working with Foster and Woodley, and also Benedict Cumberbatch, gave Rahim the incentive to bring his best to the table, in particular in the enactment of an intense altercation with Salahi’s lawyer, played by Hollywood A-lister Foster. “This scene was special because it was a turning point in the story, in the depiction of Mohamedou, and for the audience as well. With Jodie [Foster] – each time she throws the ball, you’re experiencing a different dimension, meaning the space and time, the sensation you usually have in life … because you are totally in the present. When you are in the present, it could be endless. Jodie is so good. Each time she talks or looks at you, she raises the game.”
Tahar Rahim. Photograph: Julien Vallon
Focusing on the story’s humanity, what did Rahim take away from Salahi? Was there a big breakthrough moment after the cameras stopped rolling? According to the actor, there certainly was. “I now try to pick forgiveness over anger. When you are angry against someone, you are the one who suffers – what’s the point?”
by Adina Ilie
First published in the Spring issue of Glass Man. Make sure you never miss an issue of Glass or Glass Man, subcribe here or here
Photographer JULIEN VALLON
Stylist NATALIE YUKSEL
Groomer HAROLD JAMES at THE WALL GROUP
Set design LAURA O’RORKE
Styling assistant MARINE GOMEZ
Talent TAHAR RAHIM
All clothing and accessories, LOUIS VUITTON PF21 Men’s Collection