The Transformation Of Dominic Rains From Childhood To Chicago Med

Dominic Rains is primarily known for his current role as Dr. Crockett Marcel in "Chicago Med" and one of its sister shows from the "One Chicago" franchise, "Chicago Fire." Having appeared in over 50 episodes of the popular medical drama (via IMDb), Dr. Marcel is a brilliant, yet entirely reckless surgeon who first lends his talents to the efforts of the fictional medical team of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center in 2019. Although incredibly talented, his disregard for the rules often gets him and his coworkers into trouble.

Born in Iran in 1982 as Amin Nazemzadeh (via Soaps.com), Rains later moved to London with his family when he was two because of the Iraq-Iran War in 1984, moving again six years later to Dallas, Texas, in 1990. The situation led to many hardships for Rains, as his uncle was killed during the conflict and his aunt was imprisoned (via Soaps.com). Rains grew up and eventually got into acting, but his background — both the war and his upbringing in both England and the U.S. — continues to have a lasting impact on the actor's identity.   

Drawn to entertainment even as a child, Rains took part in both acting classes and school plays, often with his older brother, and his mother worked hard to pay for these activities. For college, Rains enrolled at the University of Texas to study biology, but he ended up switching to criminology later on. Knowing that he still had a passion for acting, Rains' brother convinced him to try out for a movie, and he got the part (via Soaps.com). This movie helped jumpstart the actor's career and lead him towards his work in "Chicago Med."

The small part Rains' nabbed was in the TV movie "Saving Jessica Lynch" in 2003. Based on the real-life story of a captured American soldier, "Saving Jessica Lynch" follows the titular character as her convoy is attacked during the Iraq War of the early 2000s. Captured by enemy combatants, a daring plan is formed for her rescue, which generally unfolds with the characteristic aplomb of an action-drama movie involving explosions, gunfights, and tension.

Rains plays an unnamed Fedayeen officer, credited for the role with his original birth name, Amin Nazemzadeh, as quite a few of his early roles are. Although a minor role, being a part of a movie galvanized the actor and led to several new opportunities for him, like appearing in the hit television series "24" in 2004 as a character named Naji for one episode (via IMDb). Eventually, Rains parlayed these smaller roles into something far greater.

The next big stepping stone for Dominic Rains was his role in the NBC television series "LAX" in 2004, which follows the lives of several workers at the Los Angeles International Airport. However, things aren't exactly normal in this dramatic show, and the first episode deals with the death of the current director of the airport, which causes a power grab amongst his employees as to who will be the next director.

Rains got the role thanks to his brother, Ethan. Both tried out for roles in "LAX," which caused the series' showrunners to create an additional role in order to feature the brothers together. Rains later said of the experience that it's "unheard of for locals of another state, another city to be asked to come on board, so we were just floored" (via Soaps.com). Unfortunately, due to poor ratings, the show was canceled after 13 episodes (via The Futon Critic). 

Luckily, this eventually created an opportunity for Rains that was hard to pass up, leading to even more star power for the actor. When asked about his choices in life and if he was happy after changing his profession from criminology to acting, Rains replied, "Absolutely! Without a doubt ... I can't tell you how happy I am that I've gone this route" (via Soaps.com).

Dominic Rains next major role — the one that helped put him on the proverbial map — is that of Dr. Leo Julian in "General Hospital" and "General Hospital: Night Shift." Appearing in 13 episodes of "Night Shift" and 36 episodes of "General Hospital" between 2007 and 2008 (via IMDb), "General Hospital" is a popular and exceptionally long-running medical drama that has changed cast members several times over its incredibly long tenure. Starting in 1963, "General Hospital" is one of the longest-running series in television history, with over 14,000 episodes as of 2018 (via Soap Opera Digest). This role marks one of the first times Rains used his current name. 

Julian, within the context of the shows, is a skilled surgeon with a bit of a weakness for the ladies, with gets him into trouble due to his philandering. Rains said of the role and the public's response, "I've never been more overwhelmed by the love and the support by the fans. I'm floored ... I can't tell you how blessed I am amongst these people. And if it wasn't for them then I wouldn't be here, you know what I mean?" (via Soaps.com). In 2008, Rains was no longer able to play the role of Julian, and as such, his brother Ethan took his place (via IMDb). This was the second time that both Rains brothers appeared in the same show, but the first time one took the place of the other.  

A major movie that Dominic Rains later went on to appear in is "The Taqwacores" in 2010, which earned him critical acclaim and an award for "Best Actor" at the Ourense Independent Film Festival (via IMDb). Based on the novel by the same name from Michael Muhammad Knight, "The Taqwacores" is the story of Yusef (Bobby Naderi), a young Muslim engineering student who grows tired of his hard-partying dorm and decides to move in with like-minded individuals who share his faith. However, these new roommates are absolutely obsessed with the punk-culture scene, which causes a meeting and blending of the two philosophical outlooks on life –- one rooted in tradition, while the other is stringently anti-establishment.

Rains plays the red mohawked punk Jehangir Tabari, a guitarist who challenges Yusef's embedded belief structure. Speaking about his character in the film, Rains said, "He's vulnerable to his own thoughts and observes himself in a manner in which he sees thing as they are as they're happening ... He's not afraid to expose them to search for the truth" (via Clash Music). Talking about his initial reluctance to join the film, Rains added, "I was thinking it wouldn't be right for me to do this. I have an obligation to my parents, I have an obligation to Islam to a certain degree and to Iran, maybe they'd never let me back in. All these thoughts kept going in and out of my head." This shows how his Muslim faith and his country of origin are still important to Rains, and always worth his consideration. 

Before joining the cast of "Chicago Med," Dominic Rains appeared in two different properties in the behemoth known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, signifying his continuing rise in the entertainment industry. His first appearance is in 2014's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," where he plays an unnamed CIA instructor, and then later in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", where he plays the villain Kasius in Season 5. 

Kasius is a Kree aristocrat and his obsession with order and perfection makes him a potent adversary on "Agents of Shield." His makeup took around four hours a day to apply, according to a YouTube video released by Marvel. In an interview with Marvel, Rains spoke about the character of Kasius, and said, "Originally when I received the part, the breakdown was something along the lines of, kind of like this David Bowie, very fragile, he's eccentric, but also, you know, there is a menacing side to him, and he is repulsed by the human world, but also fascinated by them." 

Luckily for fans of Rains, he relented in his conquest of Earth and instead picked up a scalpel to save lives in "Chicago Med," but it definitely seems like the actor enjoys his multi-faceted roles. Rains has had an interesting life and career thus far, and it will be fascinating to see where he goes next with his acting profession.