David Dastmalchian was surprised to be offered lead role in Late Night with the Devil

David Dastmalchian thought it was a mistake when he was offered the chance to play the lead role in 'Late Night with the Devil'.

The 48-year-old actor stars in the horror flick as the 1970s talk show host Jack Delroy but had reservations about taking the part in the movie from sibling directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes.

David told The Hollywood Reporter: "I looked at the log line and said, 'Which lead?' There's no way anybody thinks I'm the guy to play a late-night talk show host.

"There's a lot of roles that I can imagine myself slipping into: Bond villain, Sith Lord, cult leader, creepy suspect number 17, but charming, witty, funny talk show host?"

David doubted that he would be able to do the part justice but had an "incredible experience" working with the Cairnes brothers and is looking forward to the rest of the world seeing the film.

The 'Oppenheimer' actor recalled: "I was like, 'There's no way I can pull this off, but I am going to sure as hell try.'

"It was one of the biggest challenges I've ever been handed as an actor, and being in the hands of these two incredible hard-working filmmakers, it was just this wonderful safe space on a stage in the middle of Melbourne, Australia."

Dastmalchian added: "I could get so vulnerable and do all the things I've learned as an actor to try and manifest something here.

"So it was an incredible experience, and from day one of filming, I was already excited about sharing this movie with the world. And now I'm finally doing that."

David revealed that he "spent hundreds of hours" studying 1970s talk show hosts for his portrayal of Delroy.

He said: "I spent hundreds of hours. I'm not exaggerating. From the time that I said yes, I had about three months, maybe longer.

"The Cairnes brothers sent me a bunch of footage that they accumulated of Don Lane. If you're not familiar with Don Lane, he was the Johnny Carson of Australian television. He was an American who lived in Australia, and he became the host of this huge syndicated talk show ('The Don Lane Show').

"He did this famous interview with Tom Waits, and a lot of people think Heath Ledger took inspiration from it for his portrayal of The Joker."