New High-Stakes Series Looks Like a Must-Watch Treat for Action Fans
Tahar Rahim is returning to television in a big way, and the timing could not be better. The French-Algerian actor best known for ‘Un Prophète’ and ‘The Serpent’ now leads ‘Prisoner’, a taut new action thriller series produced by Sky Atlantic and Canal+ that premiered on April 30.
The six-episode series was created by Matt Charman, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind ‘Bridge of Spies’, and directed by Otto Bathurst, whose credits include ‘Peaky Blinders’.
Rahim plays Tibor Stone, a trained killer and high-value inmate who is being transported to court to testify against the powerful crime syndicate he once worked for. When the convoy is ambushed on an isolated road, Stone and prison transport officer Amber Todd, played by Izuka Hoyle, are left as the sole survivors, handcuffed together and forced to go on the run while being hunted by both the syndicate and corrupt authorities.
To prepare for the role, Rahim worked with a psychologist, watched documentaries about sociopaths, and spent two months between the wrap of his film ‘Alpha’ and the start of ‘Prisoner’ gaining 15 kilograms of muscle through intensive gym sessions. He also had to learn how to fight and move while physically shackled to another person throughout the shoot.
Rahim described the character and the show’s thematic core, saying, “He’s good at reading people and using their feelings to get what he wants. Over the course of the show, their survival relationship turns into a strange, human relationship. It’s about trust and betrayal, you don’t know who to trust.”
It is the first project on which Rahim has taken a co-executive producer credit, something he attributed to his close creative collaboration with Charman throughout the development process. Charman has said he had watched and admired Rahim for years and specifically wanted the actor’s built-in enigmatic quality for the role of Tibor.
The chemistry between the two leads has drawn particular attention ahead of the release. Speaking to THR Hoyle said of her co-star, “He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scene partners I’ve had the pleasure to work with. We instantly clicked and fell in love, so to speak.”
The supporting cast includes Eddie Marsan, Catherine McCormack, Leonie Benesch, Finn Bennett, Sam Troughton, and Laurie Davidson. ‘Prisoner’ is available to stream on Sky Atlantic and NOW. For fans of the genre and of Rahim’s work, this is one of the more compelling new series to land so far this year.
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