Yes. And no, my parents were not hippies. I mean what else could I do with my life but be an actress with a name like Raine? You cannot just hide in the background with that name. I have to admit, I used to hate it when I was little. Everyone would comment on it and mispronounce it. Reene, Rainy. I mean really, the E is just there for decoration. As a kid, I wanted to be a Kim or an Allie, something simple. I guess no one wants to stand out as child. Now, I absolutely love it. I couldn't imagine having a more common name. It definitely is a bonus for what I do.
Q: I've recently seen BEAST. Talk about your character of Amy.
Amy is a really fun and cool character. She it is a total tough chick and tomboy. She is no nonsense and a smart a**. In the film she is the younger sister to Joe Zaso's character Alex. He has been away for awhile and at the start of the movie he comes back home, but changed. The two used to be really close and I think she tried to emulate him when they were growing up. It's not in the movie, but I picture her always trying to keep up with her brother and his friends, and him being such a great older brother, would let her join in. Also, it is written that her father was a Navy Seal, so this girl was used to being rough and tumble and trying to keep up with the boys.
She works as a phone sex operator to make money, but it doesn't really faze her. I actually like the dichotomy of the idea that she is unconcerned with her femininity on a daily basis, and yet her job is one of the most female jobs to have. It is not that she is asexual, but the fact that she is female does not make a difference as to how she behaves. It is just a fact of the matter, like she has blue eyes, and then she goes on from there. I really liked playing that because I am quite a girly girl at times, so I don't worry about being too butch. I figure if I am as manly as I can possibly be, I will still come off as somewhat feminine.- I just got that much to spare !!!:)
The most awesome thing about playing this character is the huge action sequence where Amy gets to fight a werewolf. It was the most intense action sequence that I have ever done to date with stunts, jumps and punches. It really looked great and I am so proud I was able to accomplish that- with help of Timo Rose's choreography and editing. I am really tough- in film.
Q: What type of roles are you usually drawn to?
Well, I have been fortunate enough to play a wide variety of characters. My favorite roles are ones where there is a psychological aspect. Like my character in Ashley in SCULPTURE. On the surface she is a man hating killer who carves up her victims and makes them part of her art work. But really she is a tortured soul. She was physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her father and others, and now is forced to confront her past which she had spent the last years of her life running away from. As the reality of what happened to her in the past is unfolding you can see the unraveling of this girls mind. And since she is an artist and one who is drawn to extremes, she naturally incorporates what is happening to her in her work.
Also, my role as Hannah in the psychological thriller BRAINCELL was really on of my favorites to play too. I star as the niece of a crazy scientist (Joe Zaso) where I slowly uncover that he is manipulating the brains of people with sleep disorders to turn them into zombies. This film is beautifully shot and lit and has some really fun play with reality and dreams that depth and creativity to the story. Again this character is one who is going through a psychological conflict too. Her entire family has been killed and she has to move to a foreign country to be with her only living relative, who incidentally, hates her. Through out the movie she is confronted with horrible situations and deaths and forced to do some unthinkable things. I really like to play complex characters that are forced into extraordinary circumstances that no one should have to face, I like to see how they deal with it and what motivates them. I like real people thrust into horrifying situations because I do believe everyone is capable of anything under the right (or wrong) circumstances. . Maybe I just like character who get to lose their minds. My characters often go crazy in my films. I wonder why that is?
Q: What was the oddest thing you ever had to do in a movie?
I once had to cluck like a chicken while hooking up with this boy --- or was that in real life-oh either way. Go Jumping up and Down!!
Q: What won't you do in a movie?
So far, I won't get naked. I don't do movies that are specifically exploitive to females. Everything in context. The intention behind the violence or sexuality is always important to me. I think they are very powerful interactions and if used correctly can tell a very dramatic story and make an interesting film. But used frivolously, they are just exploitive and for spectacle. I am so not interested in that.
Q: Lately, you've been in a lot of movies with Joe Zaso...any goofy Zaso stories?
I love that boy. He is the sweetest, friendliest, and most generous person. He is an excellent producer and performer and a great friend. I don't know if I have any goofy stories of Joe, but he just cracks me up all the time. I think he probably has better stories on me. But he is always worried about loosing weight, and I want to smack him. He is always afraid that he has lost too much weight, and well what a horrible thing to be worried about. Most people would kill for that. He always makes sure I have water and chocolate on set.. so he treats me good.
Q: I was looking at your credits on imdb.com and you've been in over thirty movies the past decade. Are you going to keep up that momentum?
Isn't that 3 a year-which I guess doesn't sound too impressive! However, the last few years I have done about 6 a year. I do plan to keep that momentum up and hope to keep working with talented people and creative projects. So far this year I was in England filming BRAINCELL which I mentioned before. Then I was in Germany with Timo Rose filming GAME OVER with Debbie Rochon and Nicola Fiore. I really get to go crazy in this film and completely loose my mind. Again, I think it is a trend.
I also did the New York segment of EXPERIMENT 7 with Alan Rowe Kelly and Joe Davison. I play a scientist dealing with the apocalypse where water supply is tainted and we survivors are trying figure out how to purify the water before we are turned into mutants like the rest of the population. There are many really touching moments written into our segment and I can't wait to see how it turned out.
Also, I just wrapped filming I <3 U, my first film that I co-created and produced along with Billy Garberina for my production company RaineY DaZe Creations. It is about a board married couple, she is a type A neat efficient caterer, and he is a shlumpy building inspector, but they don' realize that each of them has a secret life. It is Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Silence of the Lambs on a shoe string budget. I am very excited for this film and am so proud to have it as my first full producing job. Coming up I have the first of a series of 3 shorts for a collection called PSYCHO STREET. I am going to play a part in all three and it is great because each short is completely different. The first is a comedy where I play a crazy white trash Southern nurse. There will also be a psychological thriller that is really powerful where I play a mom who kills her child and a splatter fest where I am totally type cast into playing an Angel.
Also, I am set to work in a film called BIND and another called PRANK NIGHT t before the years end. Hopefully there will be more to confirm soon.
Q: How can people contact you (Website, et cetera)
Q: Is Raine the name you were born with?
