Recently nominated for the Orange rising star award, Tahar Rahim commands attention as the lead in Jacques Audiard uncompromising French prison drama A Prophet. Coming to the UK on January 22nd, we caught up with Tahar when he was recently in London to find out more about the film and get a further insight into this extraordinary performance.

How did you prepare for such a big move which is on such a scale?

I saw movies, documentaries and talked with ex-prisoners... that was something that helps. But at the start to get the character we abandoned every kind of method with Jaques (Audiard) and we tried to understand the character as a real person at the moment of what happened. Why does he do this, why does he think like that. because of this why does he work like that. We did it step by step with the crew and the team on the set and the actors. I also did some research with the homeless because he (Malik) is also a homeless person.

How did you go about showing the passage of time, did you play him differently as the character got older?

Yes i had to, because he obviously does age. But i didn't think about time and his age, rather it was about his experiences. This is what makes him change.

What was it like working with Jaques?

It was amazing, you learn so much. Every time you are surprised you feel confident. You end up exercising every day so that you can go further and further...

He has that reputation for pushing his actors quite hard, so how did he get the most out of you?

It's not pushing in that sense, he leaves the moment with you. When he talks to you he is very motivating. He also always has answers when you ask him something... it's like you are naked and so is he if that makes sense. You do the work together.

Throughout the film Malik is haunted by the first person he kills, how does that influence his actions?

Just like the way you think when you are guilty it makes you act differently and even think differently.

The film is doing incredibly well internationally, has that surprised you?

Yes i'm surprised... and i'm happy! It's not just the success of the movie, i feel that people are most involved in it. The attention on me personally is a lot of pressure because you can't really believe what they say. I've made just one movie, i want to tell them 'Please just give me a chance to make some mistakes'. I'm happy of course but it is weird. I think sub-conciously it does put pressure on you for future films.

It was important for this film to have someone relatively unknown to audiences...

Yes it was inherent to the project. The casting process involved eight auditions in just 3 months! When i read the script i understood that though.

Do you think it is important for Malik to be a blank slate when he goes into prison?

Yes this is the film... you have a blank page and are writing the story on it. I think Malik just want to find a home and leave that world of gangsters and prison behind him. Of course your past can always catch you up so you don't know how the story really continues.

The sets were obviously quite claustrophobic, so when you finally get to film outside did you feel a 'release'?

You don't really think about it but you do feel it.

Recently we saw Mesrine come to the screens, was that one of the films you watched as research?

No, not really... i did see it and it's a great film but it wouldn't have helped with this. I remember i saw PIXOTE, A Lei Do Mais Fraco which is an amazing Brazilian movie about a little guy who goes to a jail for young people. There was something in there... but in reality i had to abandon all that to work with Jaques. it was mainly documentaries about young people in prison around the world that i saw. I'm of course very happy that our movie is being compared to so many other great movies. I think it is a universal movie and the fact that people internationally get is doesn't surprise me because it is a film about humanity. What is surprising is that you can catch sound and you can catch images but the film has managed to capture the mood of filming. It's magic.

And does the violence in the film capture the realities of Prison?

Yes it is a violent place. When you kill somone in prison there maybe an inquiry or investigation but it is still there everyday.

How has the reception been in France, do people see it as being truthful and have they been receptive towards it?

Well it's funny when people say it's realistic becuase Jaques always says 'Have you been in prison?'. He made it feel real which is like winning the gamble, and we can use this opportunity to talk about the condition in prison.

Can you tell us a bit about your next film... Eagle of the Ninth.

It's an adaptation of a children's book. It's going to be something inbetween a commercial type film and one that is intimate. I play the baddie in the film, a guy in this animal skin costume and blood everywhere. Everyone is a Barbarian in the film, but my character has a different logic to everyone else... It's an old story but for a new generation.

A Prophet is released on Janurary 22nd across the UK. Check out the trailer on our preview of 2010