David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man was one of the highlights of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, but the self-confessed comic book fan had an embarrassing secret. At a press conference attended by The Digital Fix, Dastmalchian admitted he had no idea who the character was when Gunn offered him a role in the DCEU movie.
“The truth of the matter is I was very embarrassed because when James told me he wanted me to be in his film, I first freaked out,” Dastmalchian confessed. “I couldn’t believe I was going to be in a film James was going to make, let alone the Suicide Squad, but when he said Abner Krill I was like ‘ugh and he said ‘Polka-Dot Man’ and I was so embarrassed because James knows I’m such a big comic book fan I’ve spent my life collecting comics and I had no freaking clue who Polka-Dot Man was.”
Thankfully, Gunn understood; Polka-Dot Man is quite an obscure character after all and told Dastmalchian not to worry about it. Interestingly though, another member of the cast did have something to say about Dastmalchian’s casting. Margot Robbie explained that before anyone else was signed on to star in the action movie, she pictured Dastmalchian in the role.
“You know what’s so weird when I first read the script without having spoken to James or anyone else, no one else was announced or cast,” Robbie explained. “I read Polka-Dot Man with Dave in my head, and I’d never met David Dastmalchian until this movie either. When I spoke to James, I asked if anyone else was on board yet, and he said David Dastmalchian is playing Polka-Dot Man, and I was like that’s exactly who I pictured playing him. I don’t know what that says about Dave, but I’m so happy it was him.”
Gunn backed her up, saying, “it’s totally true we were in your house in Los Angeles. That’s right, I’d forgotten about that.”
Starring John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, and Peter Capaldi, The Suicide Squad is a (sort of) sequel to David Ayer’s 2016 movie of the same name. The comedy movie sees the team dispatched to the island of Corto Maltese to stop an evil general from getting his hands on something called Project Starfish.
The Suicide Squad hits cinemas here in the UK on July 30, 2021, and will arrive in the US on August 5.