David Dastmalchian
"Ant-Man" cast member David Dastmalchian, pictured here at the premiere of Marvel's 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' at Dolby Theatre on April 13 in Hollywood, California, opened up to International Business Times about his role in the movie as well as his new film "Animals." Getty

With “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in our rear-view mirror and “Captain America: Civil War” rumors making headlines left and right, it seems that Marvel’s next upcoming movie, “Ant-Man,” is falling by the wayside. However, cast member David Dastmalchian couldn’t be more excited for the small-sized, big-stakes action movie.

Superhero movie fans may remember Dastmalchian from Christopher Nolan’s DC Comics masterpiece, “Batman: The Dark Knight.” He played one of the followers of The Joker (Heath Ledger) that gets interrogated by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Now, he’s jumped to the other comic book filmmaking giant to join the cast of “Ant-Man” in a less villainous role… kind of.

While he wasn’t able to share too many details about his character in the upcoming movie, he did mention that he’s a complete original for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and not someone that will be recognizable to comic book fans. He, T.I. and Michael Pena play a team of allies to the thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). However, Dastmalchian feels the crew speaks to the greater struggle that the movie deals with.

“He is, like many of the characters in the film, someone who has a lot of skills and a lot of ability at something that could be very well utilized for the cause of good – but it could also be very well exploited for the cause of evil,” the actor told International Business Times. “So, when the film begins, my character, as well as many other characters in the film, is wrestling with trying to figure out where they’re going to put their talents, where their skills are going to go in life. That’s a deep answer for something that’s also quite funny.”

As many know, the director of famed comedies such as “Shaun of the Dead,” “World’s End” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Edgar Wright was developing "Ant-Man" for many years. While Wright eventually exited the project and was replaced by Peyton Reed, it seems the film didn’t lose its humor - something Dastmalchian attributes to the source material.

“If you look at Stan Lee and the Marvel comics, yes, there’s a lot of awesome, serious and dramatic action that takes place. But everything; every battle and adventure has a great deal of tongue and cheek and I think this movie really captures that.”

The actor said that joining the first film to bring Hank Pym, played in the movie by Michael Douglas, to life was especially gratifying for him as he was a fan of the West Coast Avengers comic book when he was a kid. (Pym was a key member of that group in Marvel Comics’ history.)

While he’s excited to get “Ant-Man” off the ground, he’s got a much more personal project currently in select theaters. Dastmalchain wrote and starred in the new indie film “Animals,” which tells a beautiful love story with a sharp twist. The two lovers in question are caught “somewhere between homelessness and the fantasy of their imaginations,” as the film’s bio reads. They are struggling with their affection for each other and how it’s enabling their drug addiction. Dastmalchian wrote the film from a deeply personal place as he has lived with a drug addiction for a good portion of his life.

The movie hit theaters on May 15, and the actor revealed that the release date marks 13 years to the week that he has been clean and sober.

“I wanted to write a film about love and the complexity of love and all that wonderfully trick, dark and beautiful stuff. Because it’s a tricky thing, it’s love,” he told IBTimes. “I needed to write from a narrative place that I understood and addiction is a place that I’ve had a personal relationship with.”

You can check out the trailer for “Animals” here and check out the trailer for “Ant-Man” below. "Ant-Man" hits theaters July 17.

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