Writers, stop trying to control the darkness and start letting it speak.

Actor, filmmaker, and comic book creator DAVID DASTMALCHIAN (‘Dune’, ‘Late Night with the Devil’, ‘Murderbot’) joins me to discuss why the most dangerous thing an artist can do is try to "button up" the darkness. Through the lens of his life, career, and bold new graphic novel ‘Through’, we explore the thin line between creating a "fortress" of control and finding the courage to let your stories – and your life – remain beautifully unresolved.

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ON THE ITINERARY:

• AVOIDING ARCHETYPAL ANTAGONISTS: Why fully fleshed-out villains, like those in Frank Herbert’s Dune, are essential for a story to feel truly justified and human.
• THE MONSTER WITHIN: How the horror genre provides a safe place to confront not just the "dark outside the window," but the terrifying parts of ourselves we aren't comfortable talking about.
• THE CREATIVE VACUUM: Why the artist’s best work is done when seeking to overcome fear rather than being driven by it, moving from a state of hyper-vigilance to conscious presence.
• THE TRUTH ABOUT VULNERABILITY: A raw discussion on addiction, suicide attempts, and the "implosion" of self-control – and how these experiences become the clay for David’s meaningful art.
• BREAKING ‘THROUGH’: The creative and emotional origins of David’s new graphic novel from Z2 Comics and why it’s one of the most personal things he’s ever worked on.
• THE SABOTAGED ENDING: The last-minute phone call that dismantled a "perfect" conclusion to ‘Through’ because life – and art – is far more honest when it refuses to be buttoned up.
• RADICAL HOPE: How normalizing conversations about the morbid can help us face the "monstrous" within a capitalist culture that often buries the value of human wellbeing.

🔒 EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE: HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

David Dastmalchianb returns to discuss a seminal piece of art from his life – HAROLD AND MAUDE, the 1971 cult classic from legendary director Hal Ashby. This conversation is going to explain how David became the person – and artist – he is today.

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🔑 UNLOCK AT APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonus-david-dastmalchian-talks-harold-and-maude/id1807437928?i=1000766143248

LINKS

• Learn more about and purchase David Dastmalchian's graphic novel THROUGH: https://z2comics.com/products/david-dastmalchian-through-graphic-novel-collectors-cards-deluxe-edition
• Watch/Listen to David's podcast GRAVE CONVERSATIONS: https://www.youtube.com/@graveconversations

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CREDITS

◼5AM StoryTalk acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.

◼This podcast’s music is by ⁠⁠my dear friend Cary Brothers⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.carybrothers.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠