In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and senior editor Vinnie Mancuso for this guide to living the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
Even if you don’t recognize David Dastmalchian’s name, anyone who has gone to the movies in the last two decades will remember his face. Ever since his first film role—as the schizophrenic Joker henchman Thomas Schiff in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” (2008)—the actor has become a familiar face in blockbusters and cult favorites alike.
Dastmalchian acted for Denis Villeneuve in “Prisoners” (2013), “Blade Runner 2049” (2017), and “Dune” (2021). He played Polka-Dot Man in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” (2021) and re-teamed with Nolan for “Oppenheimer” (2023). He also stole scenes as ex-con Kurt in the MCU’s “Ant-Man” (2015) and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018), and he led the horror favorite “Late Night With the Devil” (2024).
Next up, he’ll don the cape of the villainous M. Bison in Kitao Sakurai’s “Street Fighter” adaptation (out Oct 16). “People think, ‘You’re going to be part of a video game adaptation—that must have been silly and fun.’ But it’s one of the most terrifying things I’ve attempted as an actor,” Dastmalchian tells us on the latest episode of In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast. “Stepping into a role that is beloved by millions of video gamers who have already created their own narrative in their minds of who this guy is and what he looks like, which looks much more like the Rock than it does David Dastmalchian.”
But Dastmalchian’s commitment to the role proves why he landed the gig—and why Hollywood’s biggest filmmakers keep wanting to work with him. “It always piss me off [in movies] when you have the big bad, the villain who sits at their table surrounded by soldiers in matching uniforms.… And it’s like, why do they care so much about their master's mission that they’re willing to die or just stand there for eight hours a day holding a gun?” he says.
“I got really into that as an actor,” he continues. “On any given day, there are at least five, six, sometimes a dozen actors who are there to mostly stand still and create a texture. And I think it’s so boring if [those characters] are all just there. Why? For a paycheck? Why would people be willing to die for me? So we would do these great little workshop conversations.… Anyone who was interested, I’d love to know: Who do you think your character is? I’d talk to them about what I think that I brought to their characters’ lives and why they felt so devoted to me. That stuff is so awesome and fun for me.”
On this episode, Dastmalchian also shares insights into working with Nolan, Villeneuve, and David Lynch; why he believes genre storytelling is so important; and much more. Listen and subscribe to hear the full conversation:
For more In the Envelope, listen to our recent deep-dive conversations with:
