He arrives at the meeting in this hotel bar with perfect punctuality, smiles, greets those who recognize him and intercept him.
Not an ounce of fatigue on his open face, as he has just returned from Los Angeles, where he filmed additional scenes for
Madame Web
, a Hollywood blockbuster in which he plays the leading male role, that of the villain, Ezekiel Sims, a man spider.
The routine for the only French actor to have truly established himself in America and who, for this character, changed his body to gain flexibility and perform superhero acrobatics.
Tahar Rahim, 42, is nostalgic for the Method – popularized by the Actors Studio – which owes nothing to chance.
He worked (very) hard to earn this recognition and continues tirelessly to improve himself.
To discover
Leadership, balance, career, money... A business coaching program for women
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His addiction to American cinema since adolescence (he is unbeatable in the New Hollywood category), his exceptional capacity for concentration, his flawless adaptability and his particular magnetism make him a little distant cousin of Al Pacino – one of his idols along with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, the holy trinity.
Fashion is interested in this celebrity who achieves everything without showing off and forms a respected
power couple
with her partner, Leïla Bekhti .
He is close to the Louis Vuitton house and shares with Pharrell Williams, the artistic director of men's fashion, an indefinable sense of cool.
In Hong Kong, on November 30, for the presentation of the designer's pre-fall fashion show, he was one of the headliners in a very international front row.
On this occasion, this movie buff who loves Bruce Lee as much as John Woo or Bong Joon-ho took part in a fashion session for us.
Madame Web
“Being part of the Marvel Comics universe is pretty extraordinary.
First of all, it's a bit of a childhood dream come true: I belong to a generation that grew up in the cult of movie superheroes.
Then, of course, it’s a unique international opportunity.
The director, SJ Clarkson, is English, very talented, we worked very well together.
The whole process was simple.
In the United States, I try to build something that is based on the same artistic principles as those that govern my choices in France: not giving in to the easy way, knowing how to say no, choosing what I really want to do, be surprised by a scenario or a character.
Of course, in the case of a large-scale popular film, the codes are different, but I really wanted to try this adventure and play a villain, as the trailer explicitly shows.
And then, each Marvel character evolves in a kind of metaverse: everything is exponential.
A sequel is always possible.”
Tahar Rahim in the streets of Hong Kong.
(Leather jacket, wool suit pants, sandals, Louis Vuitton. Louis Vuitton Jewelry signet ring, and personal ring.) Stéphane Feugère
The American dream
“When I was a child, I was extremely naive.
As a result, my dreams knew no bounds.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.
This naivety gave me audacity and strength.
I had a dream, then, when I started working, I became aware of the difficulty, the obstacles to overcome, the paths to take.
Suddenly, I was a little less dreamy, a little less naive.
This American dream, as you call it, comes from my childhood: I was lulled by New Hollywood films.
That’s what I like about popular French cinema – Gabin, Belmondo – and films from the interwar period.
Why New Hollywood?
Because I didn't really see myself in the French films that I saw as a teenager.
Nothing looked like what I saw out my window.
The process of identification took place with the films of Scorsese, Coppola, Friedkin, Schlesinger and many others: it is a cinema which comes out of the studios, which seeks out new faces, other cultures, other worlds, other stories, and which makes antiheroes the stars.
Taxi Driver
is still the story of a pretty crazy guy who fights his own war but ends up in the newspapers as a hero.
The Scarecrow,
by Jerry Schatzberg, shows two endearing misfits.
Little Big Man
, by Arthur Penn, is a harsh critique of the American system and the Vietnam War through the fate of an old Cheyenne, American by birth.
Each of these films offers incredible palettes, experiences and excesses for their actors.
The movie theater
“I’m a gym guy.
I spent my childhood watching films in the cinema or watching
The Midnight Movies
on television.
Cinema is my backbone, a very important educational school.
I come from a working-class background, I grew up in Belfort, in Strasbourg, then I went to film school in Montpellier.
From passion, it became a need.
I was prepared, but when the time came, there was the reality on the ground.
You have to make a living from this job,
and opportunities don't necessarily present themselves.
And if they come up, there are these questions: Will I be chosen?
Then, will I be up to it?
In my case, everything happened quite quickly, although I entered the profession late.
When I started in
La Commune
, I was already 26 years old.
I was not yet an accomplished man, but more of a teenager, and I was mature enough to know where I wanted to go.
Then, Jacques Audiard spotted me,
there was
A Prophet
and the rest… Before that, I worked a lot.
Nobody helped me.
In Paris, I worked day and night to pay for my theater classes.
I worked non-stop: order picker during the day, waiter at night.
I no longer counted the number of sleepless nights going from one job to another… I was convinced that I would find my place, I had given myself ten years.
At some point, the environment became favorable.”
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Pharrell Williams
“We met through JR, during the parade that followed Virgil Abloh’s death.
He is a man that I admire very much.
Everything he touches turns to gold, but it has nothing to do with luck: he has a vision.
Music, fashion, style, images, writings, its amplitude is incredible.
In fashion, he proved himself immediately: his first show for Louis Vuitton Homme, on the Pont-Neuf in Paris, was crazy.
Same here in Hong Kong, where the fashion was sublime.
Pharrell Williams breaks the codes without provocation, without snub: he tries things, and it works.
Tahar Rahim (in a wool officer jacket and Louis Vuitton pants) with Pharrell Williams in Hong Kong during the show for the Pre-fall 2023 collection, signed Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton.
Stéphane Feugère
The fashion
“I always loved clothes, but I never really thought about style.
Here again, it was cinema that educated me.
When I have to choose a piece of clothing, it's overwhelming: I never spend more than ten minutes in a store.
I don't know if I have a fashion instinct, but I seem to choose things that suit me.
I don't know if it's what suits me best, but I like loose, grounded silhouettes,
and I'm crazy about moccasins.
I also have a street and sporty culture that I like.
Cinema is obviously a primary source of inspiration.
Models of elegance?
Cary Grant and Steve McQueen, who is kind of the epitome of style.”
Tahar Rahim wears a wool suit and shoes, Louis Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton Jewelry signet ring, Louis Vuitton Watchmaking watch.
Stéphane Feugère
Masculinity
“On American film sets, there are now intimacy coaches.
It's useful, but I find it all the stranger since I'm not comfortable with these scenes.
I don't particularly like it, and it can easily prove annoying.
And then, it's seen again and again, filmed and refilmed, often boring on screen in the end.
But I'm not particularly cast in lover roles, or in twisty stories.
However, I would love to play in a romantic comedy, a genre of its own.
I was very close to shooting one, with Anne Hathaway, but a scheduling problem made me abandon the project.
Tahar Rahim in the streets of Hong Kong.
(Technical nylon tracksuit and sandals, Louis Vuitton. Louis Vuitton Jewelry pendants, Louis Vuitton Watchmaking watch.) Stéphane Feugère
Mr Aznavour
“The film comes out this fall, and I’m apprehensive.
It's a big adventure, the best stage of my life.
Working with Grand Corps Malade, Mehdi Idir and Jean-Rachid Kallouche means joining a team that is above all a family.
I met people that I felt like I had known forever, intelligent, discerning, sensitive, open to discussion.
The best idea always wins, and if there is any doubt, we try.
This kind of exchange which starts with the script and extends into the editing room is extremely rare in cinema.
I was very afraid of this role, I thought I couldn't do it, as if the mountain was too high.
I had this fundamental fear about the physical: how can I believe in myself?
And then, I was reassured, and I went for it.
I play Charles Aznavour from his beginnings until his career explodes.
The task was considerable: four hours of makeup a day, imperceptible prosthetics, gestures, phrasing, voice, interpretation, feeling.
Plus, I sang everything!
A very disturbing thing, but I only realized it afterwards, that's all I have in common with Aznavour, the beginnings, the work, America... There was like a base, little markers to links that were familiar to me.”
Tahar Rahim facing Hong Kong Bay.
(Cotton T-shirt, suit pants, and glasses, Louis Vuitton. Louis Vuitton Horlogerie watch.) Stéphane Feugère
Hong Kong City Guide
Gateway to the Chinese continent, to which it belongs again after a long British occupation, hyperactive Hong Kong (7.3 million inhabitants over an area of 1,106 square kilometers, 263 islands) offers two aspects: city of the future with its buildings erected by great architects and its kilometer-long malls, and traditional neighborhoods that resist, with their open-air markets and their devotional temples.
A point of view.
The famous Victoria Peak, the highest point on the island, offers a spectacular panorama of Victoria Harbor and the Central and Kowloon districts, with the horizon losing itself towards Macau.
thepeak.com.hk/en
A museum.
M+, the visual arts museum, opening at the end of 2021, embodies the modernity of the city and its versatility with thirty-three galleries, three cinemas, a media library, shops, restaurants, etc.
mplus.org.hk
A restaurant.
Man Mo Dim Sum & Wine, for tasty dim sum revisited with a Western touch, foie gras, sea bass or brie with truffle.
A stone's throw from the antiques district.
manmodimsum.com
A hotel.
The Peninsula, Hong Kong's historic palace, opened in 1928, an actor and witness to the city's evolution, long considered the most beautiful in Asia.
peninsula.com
A temple.
A tiny temple nestled on Hollywood Road, built in 1847, Man Mo Temple is considered a jewel of Hong Kong heritage.
We see an incessant ballet of families coming to burn incense sticks.
Take away.
Hong Kong City Guide
, Louis Vuitton Editions.
Madame Web
, by SJ Clarkson, released February 14.
Monsieur Aznavour
, by Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade, released October 23.