Acting
Before he became an actor, Danny DeVito worked as a beautician at his sister's salon in New Jersey. When a client of his died, her family asked him to do her hair for her funeral, and he subsequently became a part-time morgue cosmetologist, styling the hair of the deceased. DeVito started his career acting off-Broadway in the plays Shoot Anything With Hair That Moves and The Man with the Flower in His Mouth both in 1969. DeVito played Martini in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest directed by Milos Forman, reprising his role from the 1971 off-Broadway play of the same title. He had his feature film debut in the drama Dreams of Glass (1970). Early film roles include Lady Liberty (1971), Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30 (1973) and Deadly Hero (1975).
In 1977, DeVito played the role of John "John John the Apple" DeAppoliso in the Starsky & Hutch episode "The Collector". DeVito gained fame in 1978 playing Louie De Palma, the short but domineering dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, on the hit TV show Taxi. For his performance, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He got the role by astonishing the show's creators during the audition when asking them "Who wrote this shit?" then throwing the script on the table.
After his breakthrough on the sitcom Taxi, DeVito devoted more effort to a growing successful film career. He took a supporting role as Vernon Dalhart in the James L. Brooks directed comedy-drama Terms of Endearment (1983) acting alongside Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson. The film earned critical acclaim as well as the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The following year, he acted in the crime comedy Johnny Dangerously (1984) and took the role as the comic rogue Ralph in the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone (1984), starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner; and its sequel, The Jewel of the Nile (1985). In 1986, DeVito starred in Ruthless People with Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold and also voiced the character Grundle King in My Little Pony: The Movie. In 1987, he acted in director Barry Levinson's Tin Men, as a rival salesman to Richard Dreyfuss' character. DeVito also acted opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the comedies Twins (1988) and Junior (1994).
In 1990, he and Rhea Perlman played the couple Vic and Paula, commenting on the state of the environment in The Earth Day Special. The following year, he played Lawrence ("Larry the Liquidator") Garfield in Other People's Money (1991) with Gregory Peck. In 1991 and 1992, DeVito voiced Herb Powell in The Simpsons episodes "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?". In 1992, he portrayed the villain Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin in director Tim Burton's Batman Returns acting opposite Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. That same year, he directed and produced the biographical drama film Hoffa starring Jack Nicholson. He also acted in the film, portraying Bobby Ciaro. In 1993, he played a single father in the comedy-drama film Jack the Bear.
In 1995, DeVito appeared in the gangster comedy Get Shorty. In 1996, he took supporting roles as Swackhammer in the Looney Tunes live-action/animated sports comedy Space Jam and reunited with Tim Burton's science fiction comedy Mars Attacks! starring Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Martin Short and Natalie Portman.
In 1997, he played Deck Shifflet in the legal thriller The Rainmaker starring Matt Damon and Claire Danes as well as Sid Hudgens, editor of a sleazy tabloid called Hush-Hush, who gets tips ahead of time of celebrity arrests in the neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential with Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey, the latter of which was nominated for nine Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. That same year, he also voiced Phil in the Walt Disney animated film Hercules (1997). Leonard Klady of Variety praised the voice performances, writing, "As in Aladdin, the melding of character animation with the screen personae of the actors voicing the roles provides forceful and amusing entertainment, particularly in DeVito's turn as a physical trainer and the acid wit James Woods brings to his villainous role."
He starred in Living Out Loud (1998) alongside Helen Hunt and Queen Latifah, reunited with Kevin Spacey in The Big Kahuna (1999), and hosted the last Saturday Night Live episode before the year 2000. In 1999, he produced and co-starred in the biographical drama film Man on the Moon, a film about the unusual life of his former Taxi co-star Andy Kaufman, played in the film by Jim Carrey. He also played Dr. Hornicker in the Sofia Coppola directed The Virgin Suicides (1999), starring Kirsten Dunst. He continued to take roles in comedy films such as Drowning Mona (2000), Screwed (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Anything Else (2003), and Be Cool (2005). He also acted in the drama films Heist (2001) and Big Fish (2003). He earned a 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for his role of a stripper in the NBC sitcom Friends.
In 2006, he joined the cast of the FX/FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Frank Reynolds. DeVito stars opposite Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Charlie Day. The character of Frank is introduced at the beginning of Season 2. He received a nomination for the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Series. He would also receive the Critics’ Choice Television Icon Award for the role in 2011. DeVito said of the show "I loved it. It was fucking outrageous just the way they are. I immediately said, 'Yeah, this is an amazing show.'" Also in 2006, he starred opposite Matthew Broderick in the Christmas comedy film Deck the Halls.
DeVito has an interest in documentaries. In 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, for whom he hosts the documentary channel Jersey Docs. He was also interviewed in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car (2011), discussing his interest in and ownership of electric vehicles. In 2010, DeVito appeared in the romantic comedy When in Rome. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television. In 2012, he voiced the title character in the animated version of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. He appeared in the Angry Birds Friends "Champions for Earth" tournament advertisement in September 2015. Following the Japanese release of the Nintendo 3DS game Detective Pikachu, dedicated Pokémon fans submitted a 40,000-signature petition requesting that DeVito be the English voice actor for the title character. However, he declined to audition for the role, commenting that he was unfamiliar with the franchise.
In April 2012, DeVito made his West End acting debut in a revival of the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys as Willie Clark, alongside Richard Griffiths. It previewed at the Savoy Theatre in London from April 27, 2012, opened on May 17, and played a limited 12-week season until July 28. DeVito played a fictional version of himself in the music video of One Direction's song "Steal My Girl" (2014). He also appeared in the short film Curmudgeons, which he also produced and directed. In 2013, he would voice Herb for a third time in The Simpsons episode "The Changing of the Guardian". DeVito made his Broadway debut in a Roundabout Theatre Company revival of the Arthur Miller play The Price as Gregory Solomon. He acted opposite Mark Ruffalo and Tony Shalhoub. Marilyn Stasio of Variety praised DeVito's performance writing, "DeVito, who holds the audience in the palm of his hand, tends to favor the comic side, making an extended meal out of an egg-eating visual gag. But he also draws on down-to-earth Jewish wisdom to keep family hostilities from boiling over and spoiling the financial negotiations". He went on to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. The production began preview performances at the American Airlines Theatre on February 16, 2017, and opened on March 16 for a limited run-through on May 7.
In 2016, DeVito appeared as part of the ensemble cast of Todd Solondz's anthology film Wiener-Dog. In 2018, he had a guest starring role in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method, acting opposite Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin. He also voiced Dorgle in the Warner Bros. animated film Smallfoot (2018). In 2019, he reunited with Tim Burton, playing Max Medici in the live-action Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Dumbo, a remake of the 1941 animated film. He acted alongside Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton and Eva Green. He also played Eddie Gilpin in the action comedy film Jumanji: The Next Level starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. The film was a box office and critical success. In 2020, he voiced Bob, a stray dog in The One and Only Ivan. In 2021, he played Charlie Goldman the biographical HBO drama film The Survivor. That same year, DeVito wrote a 12-page story centered on the Penguin and Catwoman for the anthology comic Gotham City Villains. In 2023, he acted in the Disney horror comedy Haunted Mansion, Chris Pine's directorial film debut Poolman, and the Illumination animated film Migration. Also in 2023, he returned to Broadway in the Theresa Rebeck play I Need That.
