Anecdotes

Battled a severe heroin addiction in his early adulthood which he eventually overcame and has been sober ever since.

Is a big fan of classic horror and monster films.

Has twice portrayed a disciple of the popular Batman villain the Joker. First, in 2008's The Dark Knight, as a henchman of Heath Ledger's iconic iteration of the classic character. Then in Season 3 of Gotham he plays Dwight, the leader of a cult inspired by Cameron Monahan's TV version of the clown prince of crime.

David Dastmalchian was preparing to play college football on the east coast when he received an unexpected scholarship to study acting in Chicago.

His father Hossein was an Iranian-American engineer and his mother Pam (nee Erie) was of English, Irish, Italian, and French descent.

Attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago.

David went to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, KS.

Has various comic book adaptations in his filmography as he has appeared as Kurt in Marvel's Ant-Man (2015), as one of the Joker's henchman in DC's Le chevalier noir (2008), and as Dwight Pollard in the TV series, Gotham (2014).

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Le chevalier noir (2008).