David Dastmalchian

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David Dastmalchian
DavidDastmalchian.jpg
Born (1975-07-21) July 21, 1975 (age 46)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
EducationDePaul University (BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active2005–present

David Dastmalchian (Persian: دیوید دستمالچیان‎ /dəsˈmɔːltʃən/;[1] born July 21, 1975) is an American screen and stage actor. A character actor,[2][3] he is notable for his supporting roles in films like Prisoners (2013) and Dune (2021) as well as in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Kurt in Marvel Studios' Ant-Man (2015) and its sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Abra Kadabra in the CW's The Flash, and Abner Krill / Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad (2021), among other roles. Dastmalchian wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical independent film Animals which received acclaim at 2014 SXSW Film Festival. He is a frequent collaborator of director Denis Villeneuve, having appeared in three of his films.

Early life[]

Dastmalchian was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania to an Iranian father and an American mother of Italian, Irish, English, and French descent. He was raised in Overland Park, Kansas, where he attended Shawnee Mission South High School, graduating in 1994.[4] Growing up, he enjoyed football, theater, and comics.[2] He studied at The Theatre School at DePaul University and graduated in 1999.[5][6] [7][8] Prior to beginning his career as an actor, he dealt with a heroin addiction for five years. He wrote about his experiences in his screenplay, Animals,[4] and continues to advocate for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.[9]

Career[]

Dastmalchian began his professional career in the mid-2000s in Chicago, working on stage and in commercials.[2] He has received acclaim for lead roles in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and Sam Shepard's Buried Child at Chicago's Shattered Globe Theatre.[10] His feature film debut came in the late 2000s, as the Joker's deranged henchman, Thomas Schiff, in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. His portrayal of Bob Taylor in Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners[11] received strong reviews. Richard Corliss of Time called Dastmalchian's performance "excellent – chatty, modest with some subtle telltale psychopathy" and The Guardian's Paul MacInnes likened his introduction as a new suspect to Kevin Spacey's entrance in Seven.[12] He has roles in two other films by Villeneuve, appearing in Blade Runner 2049 and Dune.

In March 2014, Dastmalchian was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Courage in Storytelling at the South by Southwest Film Festival. He wrote and starred in the feature film Animals, directed by Collin Schiffli. Ashley Moreno of The Austin Chronicle credits Dastmalchian's screenplay with "present[ing] an authenticity often lacking in films about drug abuse."[13] Film Threat's Brian Tallerico similarly sings the praises of Dastmalchian's breakout performance, noting his ability to "capture that sense of self-loathing that comes through in the body language of an addict without overselling it."[14]

Other feature film appearances include starring roles in the psychological thriller The Employer,[15] the indie grindhouse hit Sushi Girl, the drama Cass (winner, San Diego Black Film Festival), Girls Will Be Girls 2012 (a sequel to the 2003 cult hit Girls Will Be Girls), Saving Lincoln, Virgin Alexander, Ant-Man, and Michel Franco's Chronic.

He has also appeared on television: as Simon on the Fox sci-fi series Almost Human, in the episode "Simon Says"; as a chess expert and murder suspect on the CBS forensics procedural drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; and as Oz Turner on the BBC drama series Intruders. Other television appearances include the FX sitcom The League, the Showtime crime drama series Ray Donovan, and NBC's medical drama ER.

Dastmalchian portrayed DC Comics villain Abra Kadabra in seasons 3 and 7 of The Flash.[16]

He also returned for the Ant-Man sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)[17] and appeared as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad (2021).[18]

Personal life[]

Dastmalchian is married to artist Evelyn "Eve" Leigh,[19] with whom he shares children.[2][20]

Dastmalchian has had vitiligo ever since he was a child. As a child, he was made fun of due to his condition and has said that he felt a connection with Polka-Dot Man, a character which he portrayed in the 2021 superhero film The Suicide Squad, as a result.[21]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Dark Knight Thomas Schiff
2009 Horsemen Terrence
2012 Say When Damon
Cass Joshua Whitmore
Virgin Alexander Hank
Sushi Girl Nelson
Singled Out Luke
2013 Saving Lincoln Major Eckert
The Employer James Harris
Prisoners Bob Taylor
2014 Animals Jude Also writer
SXSW Film Festival – Special Jury Prize Winner
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Sergeant L. J. Ng Cameo
2015 Chronic Bernard
Ant-Man Kurt
2017 The Belko Experiment Lonny
Blade Runner 2049 Coco
2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Kurt
Bird Box Whistling Marauder
A Million Little Pieces Roy
The Domestics Willy Cunningham
Relaxer Cam
All Creatures Here Below Gensan Also writer
2019 Teacher James Lewis
Madness in the Method The Witness
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot SWAT officer Cameo
2021 Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One Julian Day / Calendar Man Voice role
Direct-to-DVD[22]
The Suicide Squad Abner Krill / Polka-Dot Man
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two Julian Day / Calendar Man
Oswald Cobblepot / Penguin 		Voice role
Direct-to-DVD[23]
Dune Piter De Vries Post-production
TBA Last Voyage of the Demeter Wojchek Filming

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2008 ER Young Man Episode: "Heal Thyself"
2012 The League Morgue Worker Episode: "Judge MacArthur"
2013 Ray Donovan English Teacher Episode: "Black Cadillac"
2014 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Lee Crosby Episode: "Killer Moves"
Almost Human Simon Episode: "Simon Says"
Intruders Oz Turner Episode: "She Was Provisional"
2015 CSI: Cyber Logan Reeves Episode: "Family Secrets"
2016 12 Monkeys Kyle Slade 2 episodes
2016–2021 MacGyver Murdoc 11 episodes
2017 Gotham Dwight Pollard Episodes: "Ghosts" and "Smile Like You Mean It"
2017, 2021 The Flash Abra Kadabra 2 episodes
2017 Twin Peaks Pit Boss Warrick 3 episodes[24]
Svengoolie Himself Studio guest, 2 appearances
2019 Reprisal Johnson 9 episodes
2021 What If...? Kurt

Music videos[]

Year Title Role Notes
2012 "Constant Conversations" Passion Pit video
2015 "Everyone's Summer of '95" Iron & Wine video
2018 "Catch It" Iceage video
"Dark Speed" Failure video
2019 "Steve Jobs" X.X.T.
2020 "Sword and Shield" Ken Andrews video

Theatre[]

Year Title Role Company Notes
1999-2000 To Live As Variously As Possible Larry Rivers TimeLine Theatre Chicago production
2005 Salome The Side Project Theatre
2007 Bach at Leipzig Johann Martin Steindorff, Georg Lenck (u/s) Writers' Theatre
2007 Othello Montano
2007 Suddenly, Last Summer George Holly Shattered Globe Theatre
2008 As You Like It Le Beau Writers' Theatre
2008 The Glass Menagerie Tom Wingfield Shattered Globe Theatre
2009 Buried Child Vince
2010 Hamlet, Prince of Puddles Claudius Bootleg Theater Los Angeles production

References[]

  1. ^ "2017 Planet Comicon Kansas City interview with actor David Dastmalchian". May 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Couch, Aaron; Couch, Aaron (July 17, 2018). "How 'The Dark Knight' Gave an Actor a Brighter Life". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Jones, Nate (August 19, 2021). "The Suicide Squad's David Dastmalchian Has Won the Character-Actor Lottery". Vulture. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Niccum, Jon (May 9, 2015). "David Dastmalchian goes from addiction to 'Ant-Man' and beyond". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "The Theatre School News". Theatre.depaul.edu. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  6. ^ "David Dastmalchian | Theatre School News". blogs.depaul.edu. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Samo, R. C. (July 2, 2019). "David Dastmalchian Talks about his New Thriller, 'Teacher'". FanboyNation Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Dastmalchian, David [@Dastmalchian] (January 8, 2017). "@BrettDAnthony92 you name it! i have irish, english, iranian, italian, and on and on and on... imho we're all pretty much distant cousins" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2021 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  9. ^ Marson, Andy (September 25, 2015). "From heroin to Hollywood: Kansas native shares story of addiction and recovery". Kansas Health Institute. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "David Dastmalchian Theatre Credits and Profile". abouttheartists.com. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  11. ^ McNary, Dave (January 15, 2013). "'Prisoners' finds Dastmalchian". Variety. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  12. ^ Paul MacInnes. "Prisoners: Toronto 2013 – first look review". The Guardian. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  13. ^ Moreno, Ashley (March 10, 2014). "SXSW Film Review: 'Animals'". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Tallerico, Brian (March 10, 2014). "Animals – Review". Film Threat. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  15. ^ Webster, Christopher (January 9, 2012). "Malcolm McDowell puts applicants through hell in THE EMPLOYER". Quietearth.us. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  16. ^ Bryant, Jacob. "'The Flash': David Dastmalchian Teases Abra Kadabra's Plans to 'Wreak Havoc'". Variety.
  17. ^ Moore, Rose. "Ant-Man & The Wasp: David Dastmalchian Confirmed to Return". Screen Rant.
  18. ^ Goldberg, Matt (April 29, 2019). "'The Suicide Squad' Casts David Dastmalchian as Outlandish Villain". Collider. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "About". evelynleigh. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  20. ^ Metz, Nina. "Actor, screenwriter David Dastmalchian on his new film 'Animals'". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  21. ^ https://www.cnet.com/news/suicide-squads-david-dastmalchian-and-polka-dot-man-share-a-personal-connection/
  22. ^ Couch, Aaron (March 31, 2021). "'Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One' Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  23. ^ Lane, Carly (May 19, 2021). "'Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two' Trailer Reveals Release Date for R-Rated Conclusion". Collider. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  24. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 4, 2016). "'Twin Peaks' Reboot Adds Patrick Fischler & David Dastmalchian". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2016.

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