Oppenheimer star David Dastmalchian talks about how it feels to reunite with Christopher Nolan after previously working with him in The Dark Knight. Nolan, who was already well known for his work on films like Memento, The Prestige, and Batman Begins, reached new levels of acclaim in 2008 with the release of The Dark Knight. The film, which, for many, is still one of the greatest comic book movies of all time, introduced Heath Ledger's haunting portrayal of the Joker and served as the first time Dastmalchian worked with the director, playing a small role as one of Joker's thugs.
After the disappointing box office performance of Tenet, Nolan's next movie, Oppenheimer, is shaping up to be his most ambitious project yet, boasting one of the most star-studded casts of recent memory. Based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan's next film is set to chronicle the life of the famed atomic bomb inventor. The film, which is currently in the midst of production, stars Cillian Murphy as the titular Oppenheimer, with Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Dane DeHaan, and Dastmalchian, among others, rounding out the rest of the cast. The film comes after a strong year for Dastmalchian, who appeared in both The Suicide Squad and Dune last year.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant at the red carpet premiere for Moon Knight, Dastmalchian explains how it feels to be reuniting with Nolan after first working with him in The Dark Knight. Dastmalchian explains that his role in The Dark Knight, which was his first-ever film role, changed his life as an actor and that he "can't believe" he's getting to work with Nolan again. He also calls Nolan "one of the greatest filmmakers of all time." Check out Dastmalchian's full comment below:
"There's been some incredible castings in the world of movie-making, but I have been literally counting my blessings every night because I go like, 'Okay. I just got to go work on this incredible film, storytelling, dark drama about the Boston strangler with this incredible cast,' and then I went right into this Stephen King adaptation, The Boogieman with this incredible cast, and then I'm now a part of Christopher Nolan's.
It's really weird ... because my first job, my first film job ever was working for him in a movie that changed all of our lives as moviegoers, but also for me as just an actor, it changed everything. I've since then always wanted to not only get to work with him again, but just properly thank him and be like, 'You changed my life.' And then, when I got the call that he thought there was a role that I would be right for in his new film, I couldn't believe it. I can't believe I get to work with him again. He's one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and I'm going to get to work with him twice."
It's not clear how big Dastmalchian's role will be in the upcoming Oppenheimer, but the actor's comments would suggest that he's just happy to be reunited with Nolan again, regardless of the size of the part. While Dastmalchian only appears in one scene in The Dark Knight, the actor delivers a strong performance, one that evidently put him on the radar in Hollywood and led to the current success he's experiencing. For many actors, working with a filmmaker like Nolan is a dream come true, making it all the more special that Dastmalchian is getting to do it a second time.
Much is still unknown about Oppenheimer, but set photos have given fans a first look at Murphy's Oppenheimer as well as the characters played by Blunt, Damon, and several others. Dastmalchian hasn't yet been spotted in any of the set photos and it's likely that the actor hasn't even filmed his scenes yet, especially if it's a supporting role. With Nolan showing no signs of slowing down in his filmmaking career and having something of a habit of working with some of the same actors across his projects (Michael Caine perhaps being the best example), it's possible that, after both The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer, Dastmalchian will get to work with the famed director again down the line.
