David Dastmalchian talks 20 years of sobriety

Actor David Dastmalchian has been vocal about his drug abuse when he was younger. Specifically his heroin addiction in high school, which he used as a means to cope with “undiagnosed depression issues.”

His addiction was an ongoing issue for five years before getting clean. Dastmalchian has been sober for 20 years now and he recently reflected on the milestone while promoting his latest film ‘Boston Strangler’.

“For nothing else, the endless pool of gratitude that I feel for the past two decades of this journey, living without drugs and alcohol, absolutely informs all the work that I do as an actor and think about the characters I want to bring to life,” Dastmalchian said.

Staying optimistic

Dastmalchian’s recovery included time in rehab, a psychiatric facility and a halfway house. He took from his own personal experiences to write the 2014 semi-autobiographical film ‘Animals’.

“Getting the mental health treatment I needed is my greatest accomplishment, and my sobriety of 19 years is a huge part of that,” Dastmalchian said in 2021. “But I’m still working at it, you know, there’s no victory flags or anything like that.

“It’s a daily routine, but I will say this: I could sit here with you now, and you could drink two bottles of wine in front of me and I wouldn’t feel any desire to join you. I have many friends who smoke pot, and it’s not difficult for me to be with them socially because I don’t have the desire.

“But if that [lack of desire] changed tomorrow, I know exactly what meeting I need to get to and who I need to contact to make sure I’m gonna be okay,” he concluded.

Dastmalchian’s acting career

Dastmalchian’s acting career began in the late 2000s, and he’s since starred in films like ‘Ant-Man’, ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Suicide Squad’, ‘Dune’, ‘Blade Runner 2049′ and more.

He’s also set to appear in Christopher’s Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ which is slated to be released July 21, 2023.