# Phoenix Raei
**Phoenix Raei** (also known as Nima Raei) is an Australian actor, writer, and director, born in 1990 in Shiraz, Iran, known for lead and series-regular roles in *[Clickbait](https://www.edgepedia.org/clickbait-miniseries)*, *The Night Agent*, *Tehran*, and the film *The Rooster*, for which he received an AACTA Award nomination for Best Actor in a Film[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/) • [2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/). He is a Persian-born Australian who emigrated to Perth as a child[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990, Shiraz, Iran; alternative name Nima Raei[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/) |
| Background | Family fled Iran for Turkey to escape persecution for their Baha'i faith; granted refugee status in 1999 and settled in suburban Perth[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634) |
| Pre-acting career | Qualified as a lawyer in Western Australia; left law at age 26 to pursue acting[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634) |
| Breakthrough | Yaghoub Ghaznavi in Kriv Stenders' *Australia Day* (2017), opposite Bryan Brown[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) |
| International roles | Roshan Amiri in Netflix's *Clickbait* (2021); Dale in Netflix's *The Night Agent* (2023); Ramin Ghasemi in Apple TV+'s *Tehran*[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-night-agent-cast-season-2) |
| Awards | Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star Award (2019); AACTA Award nomination, Best Actor in a Film, for *The Rooster*[6](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Rooster-Press-Kit-040723.pdf) • [2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/) |
| Other work | Co-founder of Little Fish Films with his partner, actor and filmmaker Kate Lister; writer-director with *The Craving* in post-production[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/) |
## Early life and training
Raei was born in Shiraz, Iran. His family was forced to flee into Turkey to escape persecution for their Baha'i faith, where they lived for a year before being granted refugee status in 1999, which allowed them to settle in suburban Perth[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634). He grew up in [Western Australia](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-australia), where he excelled at school and qualified as a lawyer[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
While undertaking his law degree he discovered acting and was cast in short films, independent features, and music videos; he then moved to Melbourne to study acting full time[7](https://www.female.com.au/kriv-stenders-australia-day-movie-2017.htm). He trained at Film & Television Studio International, graduating from its Professional Full-Time Acting for Television Program[2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/). He left his legal career at age 26 to act[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
## Australian television and film
His first major role came at 26, in Kriv Stenders' feature *Australia Day* (2017), in which he played Yaghoub Ghaznavi, a small-time drug dealer under family pressure after his brother is violently assaulted, starring alongside [Bryan Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-brown), Daniel Webber, and Sean Keenan[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
**Series regular work followed quickly.** He played Ash, a series regular, in the critically acclaimed ABC drama *The Heights* across its two seasons (2019–2020), appearing in 44 episodes[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei). In the [Cate Blanchett](https://www.edgepedia.org/cate-blanchett)-produced drama *Stateless* (2020) he played Javad, a charismatic detainee and leader, in five episodes[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei). Guest and recurring roles included *Wentworth* (as Lukas, 2019), *Romper Stomper* (2018), *Mustangs FC* (2017), and *Love Me* (2023)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/).
His feature work in this period includes *Below* (2019), which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival alongside [Anthony LaPaglia](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-lapaglia) and [Ryan Corr](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-corr), with critics praising his performance for carrying the heart of the film, as well as *Indefinite* (2015) and *7 Storeys Down* (2017)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/). On *7 Storeys Down* he is also credited as director and writer[8](https://thetvdb.com/people/8181654-phoenix-raei).
## International breakthrough
Raei was cast as a lead in the Netflix thriller series *Clickbait* (2021), playing Detective Roshan Amiri in all eight episodes of the series produced by Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [9](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/clickbait-34341/). In Netflix's *The Night Agent* (2023) he played Dale, a professional killer and the partner in both violence and romance of the character Ellen[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-night-agent-cast-season-2).
In Apple TV+'s espionage thriller *Tehran* he plays Ramin Ghasemi, appearing in the third season (2024–2025)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/). The role required him to speak Farsi, the language he had learned as a child, and he starred alongside [Hugh Laurie](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-laurie); filming took place in Greece, which doubles for the Iranian capital[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
In the Netflix series *Apple Cider Vinegar* (2025), a dramatized retelling of the wellness scammer [Belle Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/belle-gibson) story, he played Hek, Gibson's American publicist, opposite [Kaitlyn Dever](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaitlyn-dever); he noted the accent reversal, with the American Dever playing an Australian while he, an Australian, played an American[4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634). He also played Bassam Aziz in the third season of the Binge drama *The Twelve*, shot in Western Australia in 2025[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
## The Rooster
In *The Rooster* (2023), the feature directorial debut of actor Mark Leonard Winter, Raei plays Dan, a small-town country cop who discovers the dead body of his best friend buried in a shallow grave and seeks answers from a volatile forest-dwelling hermit played by [Hugo Weaving](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugo-weaving)[10](https://au.variety.com/2022/film/news/hugo-weaving-phoenix-raei-the-rooster-4434/). The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2023 and was shot in the Macedon Ranges in Victoria[11](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-21/hugo-weaving-interview-the-rooster-australian-movie/103484088).
Raei was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Film for the role, while Weaving won the AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor[2](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/) • [11](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-21/hugo-weaving-interview-the-rooster-australian-movie/103484088). Casting him took effort: Winter recalled that Raei was in Vancouver shooting *The Night Agent* when the production was trying to secure him, and the two leads rehearsed over Zoom before meeting in person[12](https://cinemaaustralia.com.au/2023/08/07/interview-mark-leonard-winter/). Reviewers described his performance as restrained and subtle, a quiet counterpart to Weaving's volatile hermit[13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/08/the-rooster-review-film-hugo-weaving-phoenix-raei-mark-leonard-winter).
## Recognition and other work
Raei received the Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star Award in 2019[6](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Rooster-Press-Kit-040723.pdf). Alongside acting he works as a writer and director: his feature *The Craving* is in post-production and has circulated in the Cannes market, with the shorts *Schnook* and *Rotten* also in post-production and completed respectively[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/). He is a co-founder of the production company Little Fish Films with his partner, the actor and filmmaker Kate Lister, whom he married in January 2022; the couple have two children and are based in Melbourne[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/) • [4](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634).
## References
1. [Phoenix Raei, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6082176/)
2. [Phoenix Raei, Film & Television Studio International alumni profile](https://www.filmtv.com.au/alumni/phoenix-raei/)
3. [Phoenix Raei, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/228485/phoenix-raei)
4. [WA-raised actor and Iranian refugee Phoenix Raei on his role in Apple Cider Vinegar, The West Australian (2 February 2025)](https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/stm/wa-raised-actor-and-iranian-refugee-phoenix-raei-on-his-role-in-apple-cider-vinegar--c-17492634)
5. [The Night Agent Cast Guide, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-night-agent-cast-season-2)
6. [The Rooster press kit, Melbourne International Film Festival Industry (July 2023)](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Rooster-Press-Kit-040723.pdf)
7. [Kriv Stenders, Australia Day, Female.com.au](https://www.female.com.au/kriv-stenders-australia-day-movie-2017.htm)
8. [Phoenix Raei, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/people/8181654-phoenix-raei)
9. [Clickbait, Screen Australia Screen Guide](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/clickbait-34341/)
10. [Hugo Weaving, Phoenix Raei Star in 'The Rooster' Mystery Film, Variety Australia (21 July 2022)](https://au.variety.com/2022/film/news/hugo-weaving-phoenix-raei-the-rooster-4434/)
11. [Hugo Weaving wanted to star in Australian movie The Rooster to shift taboos about men and mental health, ABC News (21 February 2024)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-21/hugo-weaving-interview-the-rooster-australian-movie/103484088)
12. [Interview: Mark Leonard Winter, Cinema Australia (7 August 2023)](https://cinemaaustralia.com.au/2023/08/07/interview-mark-leonard-winter/)
13. [The Rooster review, The Guardian (7 August 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/08/the-rooster-review-film-hugo-weaving-phoenix-raei-mark-leonard-winter)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames O to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license