Nobody's Ever Asked Me That: David Dastmalchian

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with actor, writer and all-around fascinating human David Dastmalchian, whose beautiful debut graphic novel Through was just published. In an engrossing and often very profound conversation, the two discuss David’s fascinating (and impressively genre-tinged) recurring nightmares, his mother’s emotional supernatural encounter with her first love, his childhood fear of hell, how “doing the work” led him to write Through … and much more, including why David insisted this episode be titled “Pedal to the Metal”! For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. 0:00 — Intro 3:06 — Do you remember your dreams and/or nightmares? 6:01 — Recurring horror dreams, stress dreams, and lucid dreaming 12:47 — Do you believe in ghosts and the supernatural? 16:50 — Living “in the gray” between ideas and spiritual interconnectivity 20:19 — Concepts of religious hell and fearing hell as a child 22:55 — Favorite films about religion, and exploring religion in creative communities 25:35 — Titling podcast episodes - “Put the pedal to the metal” 26:51 — “Can you think of a time when you nearly gave up?” and addiction 30:08 — Attempting to take his own life 31:46 — Sobriety, relapsing, and managing his anxiety and depression 34:37 — Mining your own experiences in writing, and David’s new book, Through 38:58 — “How comfortable are you with discomfort?," coping mechanisms, and consumerism 44:49 — “What kind of a life would you want to live?” Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.