David Dastmalchian is a Kansas native. He studied acting at The Theatre School DePaul University. In Chicago he received acclaim for lead roles in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Sam Shepard’s Buried Child (Shattered Globe Theater).
His feature film debut was as the Joker’s deranged henchman, Thomas Schiff, in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. His portrayal of the troubled Bob Taylor in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners has gained critical attention, as well as his award-winning turn in Animals.
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.” 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.” In 2018, David wrote and starred in All Creatures Here Below opposite Karen Gillan, also directed by Collin Schiffli.
David returned to the comic-film universe in Marvel Studio’s summer blockbuster, Ant-Man (director Peyton Reed) opposite Paul Rudd as tech wizard Kurt. In 2018, he reprised his role as Kurt in the sequel, Ant-Man & The Wasp.
Other feature film appearances include starring roles in the psychological thriller The Employer, the indie grindhouse hit Sushi Girl, the Detroit-based drama Cass (winner, San Diego Black Film Festiva), Girls Will Be Girls 2012 (sequel to the cult hit, Girls Will Be Girls), Saving Lincoln, Bird Box on Netflix, and Virgin Alexander and in Michel Franco’s Chronic alongside Tim Roth (Winner Best Screenplay, Cannes ’15). In 2017, David appeared in psychological horror film The Belko Experiment directed by James Gunn and the highly anticipated sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 directed by Denis Villeneuve. David also appeared in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. In 2021, David appeared as Polka-Dot Man in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Piter De Vries in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. He also voiced Calendar Man and The Penguin in the two-part animated film Batman: The Long Halloween. Recent projects featuring David include Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (as the voice of Veb), The Boogeyman, a reunion with director Christopher Nolan in Oppenheimer, Boston Strangler, The Last Voyage of Demeter, and his critically acclaimed turn as Jack Delroy in Late Night with the Devil.
His TV appearances include roles on Intruders (BBC), CSI (CBS), Almost Human (Fox), Ray Donovan (Showtime), Twin Peaks (Showtime), Miracle Workers (TBS), as Dwight Pollard on Gotham (WB), as Abra Kadabra on The Flash (CW), as arch-nemesis Murdoc (to MacGyver) on the MacGyver reboot (CBS), as Logan Reeves (nemesis to Patricia Arquette’s ‘Avery Ryan’) on CSI: Cyber, and as Johnson in the 2019 Hulu original series Reprisal.
In 2020, David realized a lifelong dream as creator and writer of the Dark Horse horror comic series Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter followed by the 2022 continuation of the series with Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter followed in 2023 with volume 3 – Count Crowley: Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter. 2023 also saw the announcement of the launch of David’s production company, Good Fiend Films.
David resides in Los Angeles with his wife Eve, their children Arlo and Pennie and their adopted cat Bubblegum (aka Polka-Dot Cat).
