David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian
Born (1984-02-29) February 29, 1984
Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation Actor
Years active 2005–present

David Dastmalchian (/dəsˈmɔːltʃən/;[1] born February 29, 1984) is an American actor of stage, film, and television.[2] Raised in Kansas, he studied at The Theatre School at DePaul University.[3] In Chicago, he received acclaim for lead roles in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and Sam Shepard's Buried Child at Shattered Globe Theatre.[4] He also played Kurt in Marvel Studios's Ant-Man (2015) and its sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Murdoc in CBS's MacGyver, and Abra Kadabra in The CW's The Flash.

Early life

Dastmalchian was born in Pennsylvania but raised in Overland Park, Kansas where he attended Shawnee Mission South high school.[2] He is of Armenian, Persian, Italian, Irish and English descent. Prior to beginning his career as an actor, he suffered from a heroin addiction for five years before getting clean. He wrote about his experience in his screenplay, Animals.[2]

Career

Dastmalchian's feature film debut came in the late 2000s, as the Joker’s deranged henchman, Thomas Schiff, in Christopher Nolan's movie The Dark Knight. His turn as Bob Taylor in Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners[5] 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.[6]

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."[7] 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."[8]

Other feature film appearances include starring roles in the psychological thriller The Employer,[9] the indie grindhouse hit Sushi Girl, the Detroit-based drama Cass (winner, San Diego Black Film Festival), Girls Will Be Girls 2012 (sequel to the cult hit, Girls Will Be Girls), Saving Lincoln, Virgin Alexander and the Peyton Reed-helmed Marvel Studios film, Ant-Man.

Dastmalchian appeared in Michel Franco's Chronic alongside Tim Roth.

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

Dastmalchian portrayed DC Comics villain Abra Kadabra in season 3 of The Flash.[10] He also returned for the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).[11]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Dark Knight Thomas Schiff
2009 Horsemen Terrence
2012 Say When Damon
2012 Cass Joshua Whitmore
2012 Virgin Alexander Hank
2012 Sushi Girl Nelson
2012 Singled Out Luke
2013 Saving Lincoln Major Eckert
2013 The Employer James Harris
2013 Prisoners Bob Taylor
2014 Animals Jude Writer
SXSW Film Festival - Special Jury Prize Winner
2014 Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Sergeant L. J. Ng Cameo
2015 Chronic Bernard
2015 Ant-Man Kurt
2017 The Belko Experiment Lonny
2017 Blade Runner 2049 Coco
2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Kurt
2018 Bird Box Post-production
2019 A Million Little Pieces Post-production

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"
2014 Almost Human Simon Episode: "Simon Says"
2014 Intruders Oz Turner Episode: "She Was Provisional"
2015 CSI: Cyber Logan Reeves Episode: "Family Secrets"
2016 12 Monkeys Kyle Slade Episodes: "Bodies of Water", "Immortal"
2016–present MacGyver Murdoc 7 episodes
2017 Gotham Dwight Pollard Episodes: "Ghosts" and "Smile Like You Mean It"
2017 The Flash Abra Kadabra Episode: "Abra Kadabra"
2017 Twin Peaks Pit Boss Warrack[12] Episodes: "The Return, Part 4", "The Return, Part 5" and "The Return, Part 10"
2017 Svengoolie Himself Studio guest, 2 appearances
Music videos
Year Title Role Notes
2012 "Constant Conversations" Himself Passion Pit video
2018 "Catch It" Himself Iceage video
2018 "Dark Speed" Failure video

References

  1. ↑ "2017 Planet Comicon Kansas City interview with actor David Dastmalchian". May 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Niccum, Jon (May 9, 2015). "David Dastmalchian goes from addiction to 'Ant-Man' and beyond". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ "The Theatre School News". Theatre.depaul.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "David Dastmalchian Theatre Credits and Profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  5. ↑ "Variety article: 'Prisoners' finds Dastmalchian". Variety.com. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Paul MacInnes. "Prisoners: Toronto 2013 – first look review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  7. ↑ "SXSW Film Review: 'Animals'". Austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  8. ↑ "Animals - Review". Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Quiet Earth article: Malcolm-McDowell-puts-applicants-through-hell-in-THE-EMPLOYER". Quietearth.us. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Bryant, Jacob. "'The Flash': David Dastmalchian Teases Abra Kadabra's Plans to 'Wreak Havoc'". Variety.
  11. ↑ Moore, Rose. "Ant-Man & The Wasp: David Dastmalchian Confirmed to Return". Screen Rant.
  12. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 4, 2016). "'Twin Peaks' Reboot Adds Patrick Fischler & David Dastmalchian". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
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