Nobody's Ever Asked Me That: David Dastmalchian

Nobody's Ever Asked Me That: David Dastmalchian

From Talkhouse Podcast by Talkhouse

April 23, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

David Dastmalchian discusses his graphic novel and personal experiences in a profound conversation with host Nick Dawson.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Nick Dawson

Guest: David Dastmalchian

Topics covered

  • dreams
  • supernatural
  • mental health
  • addiction
  • writing

Keywords

  • David Dastmalchian
  • graphic novel
  • dreams
  • supernatural
  • addiction
  • mental health
  • Through

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Through

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