The Flash's David Dastmalchian Dreams of Writing a Comic Book

03/28/2017 05:52 pm EDT

During an interview with ComicBook.com last week, The Flash guest star David Dastmalchian, who will appear on tonight's episode as classic villain Abra Kadabra, said that one of his dreams is to write a comic book of his own.

"That's one of my dreams — to publish one of my own comics," said the actor, who has been in and around comic book movies and other genre properties for years.

Dastmalchian, known to comic book fans for his roles in The Dark Knight, Ant-Man, and Gotham, also recently appeared in The Belko Experiment, for which ComicBook.com co-produced a comic book tie-in.

"I'm fortunate to know a lot of people who are super talented that work in this world. I've become friends with Kevin Smith, with so many people like that just randomly, but I'm very grateful to be friends with — because he's just an incredible human being — James Gunn," Dastmalchian told ComicBook.com. "We became friends because we both had volunteered to help a friend on a small sci-fi thing years ago. I had actually gone to college with James' brother Sean in Chicago years ago, and we had lost touch. Then when I moved to LA years ago, James and I became friends and so I reconnected with Sean and that entire group of insanely talented, amazing people who have that same passion for this world that I do. So when James and Greg invited me to come down and be part of Belko with them in Colombia, it was such an awesome time and a great dream for me. Rooker is someone I've been a fan of for my whole life. He went to the same college that Sean and I went to — the Theater School at DePaul in Chicago — and he had gone before us, but his picture was up on the wall and he's somebody I always looked up to. So when I got to go and play with him, it was cool. I felt like we were almost kind of a George and Lenny, buddy-system [duo] and he was kind of my caretaker if you will. We had so much fun doing that. Then in the Marvel world and the DC world, every day that I get up and I get to go and do this for work, I just don't want anybody to pinch me. If it's a magic trick, I don't want to find out that it's not real. It's been just too much fun."

This is an actor who was excited even before he saw a script to play Abra Kadabra, in part because he had been reading and enjoying the Rebirth-branded Titans book by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth, in which the character appeared.

"I grew up going to this amazing little comic shop in Kansas City called Clint's comics, and they have their fiftieth anniversary this year," Dastmalchian said. "I spent all my lawn mowing money there, and I just feel like all of the smack that I caught for that back int he day, I feel so vindicated now. It's come in so handy! The only flipside of that, is that with every time that I tell a story in these worlds, fans and people who love these characters are so devoted to them — and I understand and I get that because I am as well — so you just want them to enjoy what you create as much as I enjoy creating it. So the only stress that really comes in, and you can't listen to it, you have to just allow yourself to feel creative and play, but I really care. I really hope that people who are as familiar with these characters as I am, see this character that they've already been familiar with brought to life in a way they think is cool and fun and exciting and brings a little something new to it, you know?"

More The Flash:

• Supergirl/The Flash Musical Crossover Soundtrack Now Available
• Ranking the Musical Numbers in 'Duet'
• Abra Kadabra Sneak Preview
• The Flash Casts Mad Men Alum In Genius Role

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