Tahar Rahim lost 22 pounds to play a junkie in Alpha, in theaters on August 20, and resumed 15 for the following role. The actor explained in “L’Equipe” why he challenges himself with each film.
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Tahar Rahim stops at nothing to embody his roles.
The actor of “Mr. Aznavour” often operates extreme physical transformations to better enter the skin of his characters. For Alpha, in theaters on August 20, the star once again pushed his limits.
“I had lost 15 or 16 kg, I was already thin, but I needed to go further,” he explains in the team about the character of Junky for which he lost 22 pounds in total. “Like high -level athletes, there is work, self -denial, tunnel … it necessarily involves physical preparation.”
If the actor goes so far, beyond what the film implies, it is a question of credibility according to him. “Ask or not, given the script, if I don’t have this physical appearance, I damage the film from the inside. And it’s screwed up, ”he believes. “If I don’t have the body, I cannot enter the house (the character) … Now, the goal is not to make but to create something.”
A method that worries around him, including Julia Ducournau, the director. “She was starting to be afraid. I said to him, “Don’t worry, I have a cardiologist, a nutritionist-biologist, and I pay attention”, assures the one who “compare (s) we profession in boxing … When you are an actor, you are all alone with your character”.
Only, these transformations have consequences. “I get full of tendonitis,” reveals the 44 -year -old actor. Especially since each role having its own requirements, Tahar Rahim has, since the filming of Alpha, taken up 15 kilos of muscle.
