Dominic Rains

Dominic Rains (born Amin Nazemzadeh, March 1, 1982) is an Iranian actor, best known for his portrayal in independent films such as The Taqwacores (2010) and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), as well as his role as Kasius, the main antagonist of the first pod of season 5 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Biography Rains was born in Tehran, Iran, moved to London, England, as a young child and then to the United States, where he was reared in Dallas, Texas. He is the younger brother of actor Ethan Rains. Rains began his acting career starring in the well known TV Movie, Saving Jessica Lynch in 2003. He later appeared in 2006 in the popular TV movie, Flight 93. From July 12 to October 4, 2007, Rains appeared as Dr. Leo Julian on SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift, a 13-episode prime time spin-off of the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital. The character had first been introduced on General Hospital on July 2, 2007. With Rains unavailable for the series' second season in July, 2008, his brother Ethan was cast in the role starting July 22, 2008. Following his role on General Hospital he has continued to appear on numerous television series including: 24, Flash Forward, Burn Notice, NCIS, Cane, and Anger Management. In 2010, he gained recognition for his role in the discussion-sparking independent film The Taqwacores based on a 2004 novel by an American convert to Islam, Michael Muhammad Knight. The New York Times praised his performance as "particularly eye-catching" and NBC reviewed that his portrayal is "reminiscent of Adrien Brody's career-launching turn in Summer of Sam. Rains is just operating at an entirely higher level as the heart and soul of this film." This role also won him an award for best actor at the Festival de Cine Internacional de Ourense international film festival. Later in 2010, he began filming and starring as the lead role in Exxodus Pictures' supernatural thriller, Jinn. The film was released nationwide in April, 2014. He plays Shawn Walker, a young automotive designer from Detroit who uncovers an ancient secret that threatens to wipe out his entire family. Rains's appeared as Saeed in Sundance Film Festival favorite A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Highly praised by many critics after its debut, it was acquired by Kino Lorber for mainstream US distribution and released in late 2014. "This stunning and stinging cinematic marvel left us speechless at its premiere," wrote founder Richard Lorber. Also in 2014 Rains collaborated on a short film written and directed with his brother Ethan, Still Here, inspired by real life events of their cousin who was fatefully misdiagnosed with cancer. The film is produced by the Rains Brothers in association with Exxodus Pictures. In the film Rains plays alongside Shohreh Aghdashloo and Alan Rosenberg. Besides television and film, Rains is active in the Los Angeles theater community and is a member of the Los Angeles-based Elephant Theatre Company. He has appeared on stage with the Elephants in the critically acclaimed productions of Desert Sunrise, Block Nine, Love Sick, Baby Doll, Cycles, and The North Plan.