Arab actor Tahar Rahim’s stunning performance in The Mauritanian is getting the recognition it deserves, picking up the 39-year-old star a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, as well as a long-list spot for the 2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in the same category.
The French-Algerian hopes that the honour opens the door for many more Arab actors to come, as well as others who have traditionally been shut out from the grandest stage.
“If it can help to open up the range of offers to actors from different backgrounds, it will be great. I think that is so important,” Rahim told Entertainment Weekly from Paris.
Three Muslim actors were nominated for this year’s Globes, the first time that has happened. Riz Ahmed was nominated in the same category for his performance in Sound of Metal, and Ramy Youssef was nominated in the Best Actor in a Television Series (Drama) category for his Hulu show Ramy, streaming on OSN in the region, an award he won a year ago for the show’s first season.
In The Mauritanian, Rahim plays Mohamedou Ould Salahi, a detainee at the American off-shore prison Guantanamo Bay who is held without charge after the 9/11 terror attacks. The film also stars Jodie Foster, Benedict Bumberbatch and Shailene Woodley. Foster was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Globes.
Rahim first gained international acclaim for his role in the 2011 French film A Prophet, directed by Jacques Audiard.
Fellow nominee Riz Ahmed told EW that he is a big fan of Rahim, and is hugely excited about his Day of the Falcon (2011) co-star’s nomination.
“I don’t really think about it as going up against him, I just think it’s beautiful that his work is being celebrated and in a way it might not have had time to be digested by viewers and voters in the past. I feel like when good work is celebrated that we all win,” said Ahmed.
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