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Saïd Taghmaoui

Saïd Taghmaoui

Saïd Taghmaoui (BREAKER) was first noticed by film enthusiasts for his role as the Arab punk in La Haine, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995.

Born in France to Moroccan parents, Taghmaoui is a former boxer who was ranked second in his division at the height of his athletic career; however, he chose acting as a different option, thanks to his friendship with writer/director/actor Mathieu Kassovitz. Together they wrote La Haine. The film went on to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival and three Cesars as Best Picture, Best Producer and Best Editor when it debuted in 1995. Additionally, Taghmaoui earned a Cesar nomination as Most Promising Newcomer and was also honored with the Golden Pyramid at Cairo's International Festival, presented to him by Omar Sharif, as the youngest and most valued international Arab actor. The film went on to win many awards around the world at various film festivals

Taghmaoui can also be seen starring in Anton Corbijn's film Linear, which accompanies U2's album No Line on the Horizon.

With many French films to his credit, his first English-language role was as Kate Winslet's lover in Hideous Kinky, which led to him being cast as the brutal Iraqi officer in David O. Russell's Three Kings. Taghmaoui has since starred in Neil Jordan's The Good Thief, David Mamet's Spartan and Hidalgo opposite Viggo Mortensen. He reunited with David O. Russell in I Love Huckabees, starred in Columbia Pictures' Vantage Point, starred in Marc Forester's The Kite Runner, and opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in Traitor.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2009.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Saïd Taghmaoui Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayJuly 19, 1973 (50)
SignCancer
BirthplaceVillepinte, France

Selected Filmography

Not available.