Highly anticipated, the biopic on Charles Aznavour is released this week in cinemas. To play the role, the lead actor had to undergo an impressive physical transformation.
Highly appreciated by the public, the biopic is a particularly demanding genre for the actors who try to tackle it. It’s not easy to play a person who has already existed, especially when they are as popular and well-known as Charles Aznavour. The film which retraces his life, directed by Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, is released in cinemas this week. It was the actor Tahar Rahim who was chosen to play the interpreter of “La Bohème”.
However, the actor himself recognizes it at the microphone of Sept à Huit: “there is no physical resemblance at the start”. It was therefore not only necessary to find “the right posture to move like him”, but also to go through the obligatory box: makeup. To portray himself as Charles Aznavour, Tahar Rahim spent four hours of makeup a day on set. Micro-prosthetics on the eyelids, under the eyes and around the nose, waxing of the eyebrows, splints for three months to reproduce his prominent lower lip, the actor has not backed down from any challenge.
Because another stood before him, perhaps even more difficult than the physical transformation: the transformation into a singer. It is in fact Tahar Rahim who really sings in Mr Aznavouras he confirms to our colleagues at TF1. To be able to perform the greatest titles in the repertoire of “the great Charles”, he followed “six to eight hours of singing lessons per week non-stop for six months”. Only the highs were lightly mixed with sounds from Aznavour to find the true voice of the singer who died in 2018. “But everything else is me,” admits Tahar Rahim.
So, is the result conclusive? On the set of Quotidien on October 16, the actor admitted to having received positive feedback from Charles Aznavour’s children following the first screening of the feature film. At the start of filming, Katia Aznavour went to the set and told them that she had “the impression of seeing her father”. We will now see if the public will also be amazed by this impressive transformation. Mr Aznavour comes to theaters this Wednesday, October 23.