BROADCASTS.com

Well known for his roles in some of the biggest films of the last decade, David Dastmalchian is a familiar face on the screen.\xa0

Dune Part One, Oppenheimer, The Dark Knight, and Bird Box are just some of the films on his filmography, not to mention his involvement in superhero films The Suicide Squad and Ant-Man.\xa0

His latest work is Late Night with the Devil, a film he\u2019s not only starring in but produced as well, with a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.\xa0

Growing up in Kansas, Dastmalchian was quite the talented American football player, and whilst he loved theatre he was expecting his university experience to start feature college football, until a teacher convinced him otherwise.\xa0

\u201cShe said, 'David, you have something special,'\u201d he recounted to Newstalk ZB\u2019s Mike Hosking.\xa0

She told him to at least try auditioning for a training program at an acting conservatory, to which he was not only accepted, but was granted a full scholarship.\xa0

\u201cIt completely changed my life.\u201d\xa0

Dastmalchian is used to playing the antagonist; bad guys, villains, henchmen, and psychopaths, and was initially unsure that he could pull off the leading role in Late Night with the Devil. \xa0

He fell in love with the story in the initial reading of the script, but the first thing he said to directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes was that they had the wrong guy.\xa0

\u201cThere\u2019s no way that me, David Dastmalchian, could be compelling, or, or captivating, or even convincing as a late-night talk show. That\u2019s just not wheelhouse.\u201d\xa0

The Cairnes convinced him to give it a shot, so despite his fears he packed up and shot the film.\xa0

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of myself,\u201d he told Hosking.\xa0

\u201cThat might sound like a dumb thing to say, but I\u2019m proud I overcame my fear to go do this film because I\u2019m really proud of this movie and I\u2019m really happy that I made it.\u201d\xa0

LISTEN ABOVE\xa0

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.