On the Verge: Hakim Brahimi

Hakim Brahimi is too good looking to be so nice. The 25-year-old native Algerian, whose family immigrated to Canada when he was a boy, grew up in Montreal and has an accent that’s partly North African, partly Canadian French, and all charm. He’s got charm coming out of his pores, really.

Aside from being exceedingly easy to look at, he’s also charming to talk to, and, by the way, he’s brilliant, too. At the moment, he’s studying architecture at McGill, one of the world’s most prestigious universities. It’s sort of annoying, actually. Even more so when you consider that, in just his second time ever on film, he was the star of the indie dramedy Montréal Girls, in which he plays Ramy, the Canadian son of an immigrant family who moves to the titular city for med school, only to find himself at a crossroads when he meets two local girls and realizes his heart is not in medicine, but in poetry.

There is more than one similarity between the actor and his role. He was back home in Montreal when he chatted with us.

My first question is how you got started. Have you been acting your whole life?

No, but I have to say that I expressed a big interest for cinema in general. I always used to watch movies with my father. I had a teacher in college in a literature class. She was a guest, actually. At some point, she showed up randomly in a corridor, and said “take this flier.” It was a casting call [for the movie Antigone] for people with North African origins, no experience required, and I thought I’d just try my luck on it. So I did the audition and then I got a call back, and pretty much everything started from there.

So you come in with no experience whatsoever, and you’re on a film set for the first time. What was that like?

I had some sort of idea of what it was going to be like because I watched a lot of movies, and some of them would make reference to it, they would literally show sets and how things are made. Documentaries, as well.

Hakim Brahimi (Ramy) © Objectif 9 & Flirt Films

Did anything surprise you about it?

The way they treated actors in secondary roles. In one case, I was doing an action scene. Well, a stunt. I was doing a stunt. And it was like, every couple falls that we’re doing someone would come and check on me, make sure I was okay. I guess I didn’t expect that.

Which brings us to Montréal Girls. Suddenly, in your second movie, you’re the star. Can you walk me through the process of getting the film?

It was both very random and, at the same time, something that could have been expected. After Antigone, I was on a casting list, which [Montréal Girls co-writer/director] Patricia [Chica] saw and had her assistant reach out to me on Instagram. I was working as a financial advisor at the CIBC bank in Montreal downtown, trying to save up for my education because I want to be an architect.

Wait, you were working as a financial advisor?

(Laughs) Yes. I had applied to college for architecture in 2021 and was turned down, unfortunately, so I decided to just take some time to get a professional experience, while I figured out what I wanted to do. Anyway, after Patricia reached out, I took a couple days off from the bank and put myself on tape. That led to meeting Patricia in person. And I’m not gonna lie, I was stressed out, but it was super cool, super chill. I just went with the flow. She was so nice, and we clicked. She required that I take some acting courses and some coaching, but I dedicated myself to it, and I am proud of my acting in it.

Talking to you, I find it interesting that there are so many similarities between you and the part you played. Ramy has a lot of pressure on him and finds himself in a world that’s pretty alien to him. Then there’s the immigrant experience, both of which you lived yourself. Did you find that you used some of that in your portrayal?

Well, it’s certainly interesting in that it was my first film lead role that I was cast for, at a time in which I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do for the rest of my life. So, yes, it was really something that I had sort of mixed up together, and my personal life experiences added much to the role archetype progression in the film. Regarding the other part, the immigrant part, yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of authenticity there.

Hakim Brahimi (Ramy) © Objectif 9 & Flirt Films

You’re back in school now at McGill for architecture, but if Hollywood calls, will you answer?

Architecture was always my dream, but yeah, at some point, you have to pick one or the other because you’re not necessarily going to be able to handle both together. I will continue my studies and get my degree and if acting works out, then I’ll pursue that and if not, then I’ll be an architect. Just go with the flow. As Chuck says in Cast Away, Who knows what the future will bring you?

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