David Dastmalchian cast in Boston Strangler

David Dastmalchian has joined the cast of 'Boston Strangler'.

The 46-year-old actor will star in the new flick alongside Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola and Chris Cooper.

The movie is being directed by Matt Ruskin and is based on the infamous Boston Strangler murders that rocked the US city during the 1960s.

The picture centres on Loretta McLaughlin (Knightley), the reporter who broke the story of the strangler. Along with fellow reporter Jean Cole, McLaughlin challenged the sexism of the era and pursued the story at personal risk to uncover corruption that cast doubt on the identity of the strangler.

David is joining the cast in what has been described as a pivotal role and filming on the project is slated to begin this month in Boston.

The part completes the biggest year of Dastmalchian's career as he has had roles in both 'The Suicide Squad' and 'Dune'.

He previously expressed delight to be starring in the latter and described the director Denis Villeneuve as one of the "greatest filmmakers of our time".

David said: "I'm so grateful and excited to be a part of Denis' vision. I think that he is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time and any time, and I believe what he's going to do here, it's just going to take people to a whole other place.

"He brings so much. When you think about 'Arrival' and 'Blade Runner 2049' specifically, because those are the two science fiction films that he's crafted. You see his gift for telling stories that are visually stunning, but that are also rooted in really complex ideas and really fascinating characters."