INTERVIEW: David Dastmalchian Really Wants You To See ‘Murderbot:’ “We Were Making Something Special”
- Demet Koc
- 15 hours ago
- 8 min read
Apple TV+’s new sci-fi adaptation Murderbot isn’t just a showcase for Alexander Skarsgård’s formidable talent , it also highlights a standout performance from David Dastmalchian. In the series, Dastmalchian plays Gurathin, an augmented human who is intensely suspicious of the titular Murderbot, especially since it originates from the corporation he deeply distrusts. His portrayal brings nuance and vulnerability to a character caught between logic, fear, and a complicated form of love.
Nexus Point News spoke with David Dastmalchian about bringing Gurathin to the screen, exploring the emotional depth of the character, his electric dynamic with Alexander Skarsgård, and the exciting projects he has on the horizon.
Demet: Murderbot touches on ideas of autonomy, trust, and found family. What themes resonated most with you personally when you first read the script and stepped into Gurathin's shoes?
David: There were two themes that really struck me when I first read the scripts that Paul and Chris adapted so incredibly well from Martha Wells' brilliant books. The first, which you already mentioned, was autonomy. I'm fascinated by the concept of autonomy as a human being — the idea of being my own source, primarily of safety and support. It's something that is challenging to say the least as a human being in a world that constantly pushes and pulls us in lots of different directions. So that leads me to the other theme that really hit home for me as Gurathin, particularly, which is I, David, know how it feels to love people the way Gurathin loves the family that he has in PresAux, the way he loves Doctor Mensah and to want them so badly. What I think is best to do, what I say is best, to want to control the person I've loved or the group because I think I know what is best for everyone. And that is a form of relationship that is problematic. Gurathin, I had the honor of playing, comes to many painful discoveries because, even though Gurathin deeply loves the people around him and he believes he knows what's best for them, he has a very difficult time letting go of control, of making himself vulnerable. And when SecUnit becomes such a priority for them — when they seem to look at SecUnit as an entity equal of Gurathin's worth or value — it shatters his mind. That was fascinating.
Demet: Yeah. In many ways, Gurathin is uniquely equipped to understand Murderbot's programming and then the emotional needs of the human team, but he is also somehow isolated from both. How did you explore that aspect of his character, the isolation part?
David: Do you know the term FOMO?
Demet: Yes.
David: Gurathin is this paradox. He is, in my opinion and the choice I made with the character, constantly experiencing a set of feelings that revolve around FOMO because the people he loved so much are so connected in ways that he has a difficult time connecting with them. And they feel a special bond to SecUnit — which, to Gurathin, is a piece of equipment. If you'll notice, I keep referring to it as "it," whereas they refer to it as they/them because they see it as a non-binary entity. It hurts my feelings as Gurathin to be like, "Why are you all putting all this energy and attention over there when I'm right here? I care about you. I love you. I know things. I'm smart." He's almost like John Cazale in The Godfather movies. He's like, "No one pays attention to me." That obstacle as an actor was really wonderful to play around with and get to explore because, from the beginning, I know there is something not right about SecUnit. So I'm not coming at it as a villain. I'm not coming at SecUnit as like some bad guy. I'm coming at SecUnit because I love PresAux. I love my family. I love Doctor Mensah. And I want to protect them from this threat that, to me, quite obviously is not operating properly.
Demet: The dynamic between Gurathin and SecUnit is also electric. I just couldn't get enough of it. What was it like developing that chemistry with Alexander Skarsgård? Did you have any kind of rehearsal process to shape that dynamic? It's just magic.
David: As soon as I met Alex, it was on. I was in love at first sight. I've been a fan of his for such a long time. I've always thought he was so interesting as an actor. He's so complex and fascinating, and he does so much with so little. I've seen his performances be completely soft and sweet. I've seen him be terrifying and monstrous. The spectrum that this guy possesses within him is astounding. So I knew I was gonna learn a lot, and I was fucking right!
As soon as we showed up, we met in Toronto, Chris and Paul brought all of us into the room together so we could talk and work through stuff and explore — share ideas. The first day of filming was like kind of a big group scene. It was pretty simple; it was like showing up at the habitat and stuff like that. Day 2, the first day of like real heavy lifting acting was the big scene in episode 2 where Gurathin and Murderbot square off, and Gurathin knows something's up. And I was so nervous going into it cause I'm like, "This guy is such a fine actor. He's so talented. Am I just gonna get gobbled up? I've got to make strong choices. I've got to go for him. I've got to see if I can tip him off his balance and see how I can get inside of Murderbot's mechanics so that I can prove my theory," and we start working. And Alex is that very special kind of actor who every single take brings something entirely new. Even when we would find like magic and gold, you never got the sense that Alexander was out there trying to recreate or remanufacture something. He lets every take go where it needs to go, and so we started playing. And I felt all the feelings as Gurathin. I felt intrigued by Murderbot. I felt a sense of kindred connectivity with Murderbot. I felt deeply resentful and suspicious of Murderbot. And the writing, the way it was directed and the way that ultimately it was played by Alex... What a gift, man! I've been so lucky as an actor. I've gotten to do so much cool stuff, but Murderbot is like... it's really it for me, man.
Demet: Yes, it's my new comfort show. I've already started rewatching it.
David: I love that — comfort show Murderbot. Who would have thought that a show called Murderbot would be your new comfort show? I love that! That warms my heart, because boy, is it a beautiful, incredibly moving show that also makes you laugh your ass off. I love that about it.
Demet: Yes, it is charming. So you convey so much of Gurathin's inner turmoil through subtle expressions and posture. What kind of physical or emotional preparation went into playing someone with so much unspoken trauma, and so many emotions?
David: Most of the time, I build my characters from the outside in. I think about the environment in which they exist or have existed. I think about the way that they exist in space and how they would physically exist around others. Gurathin is so closed off, so the way I positioned my feet, the way I walked, I wanted to constantly feel like a person that was looking for an explosive device at any corner, like, "What's the thing that shouldn't be trusted in this room? What's the thing that is potentially going to harm me in this space?" That's how I energetically moved with Gurathin, which then caused muscles to start to develop through the course of performing, that kind of shaped the way I felt like Gurathin would stand, would hold posture... I don't know if you've ever noticed this — I do — depending on different circumstances or situations, I find myself, in the way that I move my mouth, is really distinct. And I'd never really done much consideration of that in character work, at least not as specifically as I did with Gurathin. So I started to really like — because he's so cerebral — so much of his way of defending himself and exploring the world is through ideas and words. I really started to think about what it feels like in Gurathin's mouth — that's a strange quote, but it made sense to me at the time.
Demet: Yeah, I mean, you just masterfully brought Gurathin into life. It's always a delight to see you in a project. Which of your upcoming projects are you excited for people to see?
David: Oh my gosh! All of them! I mean, seriously... I know we're doing press, and you're a journalist and I'm an artist, and so blah blah blah, but I'm so excited for people to see Murderbot. I talked to my therapist about it. I talked to my support group about it. I talked to strangers about it, and I'm so excited for people to see the potential. It's the thing that Apple does so well with all genres, but especially when you go like, "Oh my God! Science fiction... there's never been a show like this out there," and that makes me so excited.
And then I jump into the next feature that's coming out, which is The Life of Chuck, written and directed by the legend Mike Flanagan, which — I've never seen a movie like that. Is it a ghost story? Is it scary? Is it the drama? Is it an apocalypse story? All of the above. It's so fascinating.
I'm really proud of and excited for people to see what we got to do with Dexter: Resurrection. I can't talk much about that yet, but I am telling you, it's wild and so awesome.
I have this talk show/podcast called Grave Conversations, and we're getting ready to shoot a round of really cool new interviews where I get people to climb into a casket with me. We talk about the end of life. And sometimes it's very funny, and sometimes it's very emotional. It's always really meaningful to me because I love the opportunity to try to normalize conversations about death and dying because it's something we just don't talk very much about, except in movies.
And the last thing I'll say is — 'cause I don't need to say anything about One Piece. Everyone's excited about that; it's gonna be awesome! I did a film called Dust Bunny with Brian Fuller that is, yet again, unlike anything I've ever really seen or been a part of before. And I think it's a very special experience. So I'm swimming in gratitude today. People have given me so many awesome opportunities, and when I hear you say something like, "Oh, Murderbot's my new comfort show," that's the greatest gift 'cause I could feel it when we were making it. I felt like we were making something special. But now it's out of our hands —now it's in the audience.
Demet: You have no idea! I tell everyone I know to watch Murderbot so I can get the second season. I'm like, "Please watch it, please watch it for me. You will love it." So thank you so much for speaking with me today. It was wonderful!
David: That was really great. Thank you so much!
This interview has been edited for clarity. Murderbot is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Murderbot
Premiere Date: May 16, 2025
Episode Count: 10
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Alexander Skarsgård, Andrew Miano, David S. Goyer, Keith Levine
Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Toa Fraser, Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang
Production: Paramount TV
Distribution: Apple TV+
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, Tamara Podemski
Synopsis: Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series, “Murderbot” is a sci-fi thriller/comedy about a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients. Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.