Sixers fan and ‘The Boogeyman’ actor David Dastmalchian has never had a Philly cheesesteak

Actor David Dastmalchian is no stranger to darkness.

He has explored the shallow and lonesome depths of mental health as a disturbed henchman in The Dark Knight and as an escaped, maze-obsessed captive in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. But his latest turn as Lester in Disney’s new bone-chilling thriller The Boogeyman was one the Bethlehem, Pa.-born actor didn’t envision.

In fact, he almost turned down the offer when he was sent the script. ”It was good, but too scary for me. I wasn’t interested in making myself as vulnerable as I knew I needed to be to help this film.”

His character is a grieving father wrestling with the loss of his children. “Over the course of the pandemic, not only did I mourn the loss of so many things I had worked hard to create... , I lost both of my parents,” the actor said. He felt like he needed to do this film because it speaks to something that’s an underlying issue in our society. “Even though it’s a scary movie,” he said, “it also talks about the importance of being able to talk about how we feel, and to not go through these difficult times alone.”

The Inquirer caught up with Dastmalchian to chat about his time in the Philadelphia region, where he spent his early years living in Reading and Allentown. Here’s what The Suicide Squad star’s perfect Philly day would look like.

On his perfect Philly morning, the actor would want to meet screenwriter, friend, and Germantown Academy graduate Andrew Barrer (they worked together on Ant-Man and the Wasp) and venture downtown to the Franklin Institute for some scientific exploration, and then run up the Rocky steps into the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “There are some amazing places there, and I want to see them all,” he said. “They’re iconic.”

Dastmalchian, a lifelong Sixers fan, hasn’t seen the team play in person since he was a kid. His perfect trip to Philly wouldn’t be complete without seeing NBA MVP Joel Embiid in action. He would just have to wait until next season, and, of course, for his heart to heal after the Sixers’ recent playoff loss.

The actor has never had a Philly cheesesteak. We sent him the The Inquirer’s cheesesteak bracket, in which cheesesteak diehards gave Dalessandro’s the nod.