Tahar Rahim earns his director’s praise for “The Eagle”

By: Henrick Vartanian — *BraveNewHollywood exclusive: During one-on-one interviews in Los Angeles, for his latest film The Eagle (starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, and Tahar Rahim), director Kevin McDonald spoke highly of Tahar Rahim who plays the Seal Prince in the filmmaker’s gladiator-ish “quest” movie.

Based on the popular novel “The Eagle of The Ninth” the film follows a young Roman soldier (Channing Tatum) who sets out on a high-risk mission to restore honor back to his family by finding the missing emblem of the 9^th legion, with the aid of his Brit slave (Jamie Bell).

Because of last minute changes in pre-production and casting, McDonald admitted that he interviewed Rahim via SKYPE, and not having seen Un Prophete, (A Prophet) at that time, the movie that made Rahim an international star,  the filmmaker says that casting the French-Algerian actor  “might have been based on a leap of faith that proved to be a great decision.”

In the movie, Rahim displays predatory instincts along with fatherly traits as the leader of a violent secluded tribe that roams the land in what is known as today’s northern England. Having shaved his head for the role, and covered in a grainy gray make up, the actor’s eyes are one of his strongest weapons along with the calculated use of whatever is left as an instrument of communication: his movement, his costume, and most notably his speech; another major challenge since this non-English actor had to deliver all his dialogue in the ancient Gaelic language, for the film. For that, Mc Donald calls him “simply, amazing.”

Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, and Tahar Rahim, THE EAGLE lands in theatres on Feb 11, 2011 – The EAGLE official movie website: http://www.focusfeatures.com/the_eagle