David Dastmalchian Joins Oppenheimer Cast in an Unknown Role

Actor David Dastmalchian is joining an already star-studded cast for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer biopic, THR reports.

Dastmalchian, who got his start in acting in Nolan’s The Dark Knight as a henchman of the Joker, is currently keeping his role a secret. Filming began this week, and Dastmalchian will be joining a hefty cast list, including Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie (director of Uncut Gems), Josh Hartnett, Jack Quaid (The Boys), Matthew Modine (Dark Knight Rises, Full Metal Jacket), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), David Krumholtz (The Santa Clause), and Kenneth Branagh.

Dastmalchian’s star has steadily risen throughout the years since Dark Knight, landing him roles in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad as the mentally tortured Polka Dot Man, Ant-Man, and Denis Villenueve’s Dune.

We recently got our first look at Cillian Murphy as the titular nuclear physicist and “father of the atom bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer. With Dastmalchian’s character being kept a secret, it’s possible that he could play another of the founding scientists working alongside Oppenheimer on the development of the atom bomb that eventually destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He could also play one of the members of the Atomic Energy Commission that was formed in the aftermath of WWII, of which Oppenheimer was a part of.

Oppenheimer is scheduled to land in theaters on July 21, 2023, distributed for the first time by Universal, following Nolan’s heated split with Warner Bros.

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.