Creator / Danny DeVito

Enter the Trashman.

"It's fun to be on the edge. I think you do your best work when you take chances, when you're not safe, when you're not in the middle of the road, at least for me, anyway."

Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944 in Neptune Township, New Jersey) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer of Italian descent.

Highly prolific and easily recognizable by his short stature (the result of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia) and strong New Jersey accent, DeVito first gained prominence with his portrayal of caustic taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma on the 1978–83 TV sitcom Taxi, for which he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe. He's since become a major film star with numerous credits to his name. In addition to acting, DeVito is also a director and producer who co-founded Jersey Films, a production company responsible for such films as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, Freedom Writers and its television sister company is responsible for Reno 911!.

DeVito returned to television in 2006, starring as Frank Reynolds in the FX (later FXX) sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He also directs and produces graphic short horror films for his Internet venture The Blood Factory. He has appeared in several of them, as have friends of his and members of his family.

He is not the voice of Detective Pikachu in either the game or the film, no matter how much you ask or plea for him.^note He even said, "What the fuck is Pokémon?" when he actually was asked if he would do so. (Ironically, he was actually scouted to voice Pikachu, but he was turned down over Ryan Reynolds.) What he is, though, is a "dibby".

His wife Rhea Perlman (from whom he's now separated) is an actress herself, as is their daughter Lucy DeVito.

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Filmography

Film roles

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) as Martini
• Terms of Endearment (1983) as Vernon Dahlart
• Romancing the Stone (1984) as Ralph
  • The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
• Johnny Dangerously (1984) as Burr
• Head Office (1985) as Frank Stedman
• Ruthless People (1986) as Sam Stone
• My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) as The Grundle King
• Throw Momma from the Train (1987) as Owen Lift^note Also director
• Tin Men (1987) as Ernest Tilley
• Twins (1988) as Vincent Benedict
• The War of the Roses (1989) as Gavin D'Amato^note Also director
• Other People's Money (1991) as Larry Garfield
• Batman Returns (1992) as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin
• Hoffa (1992) as Bobby Ciaro^note Also producer and director
• Last Action Hero (1993) as Whiskers
• Look Who's Talking Now (1993) as Rox
• Renaissance Man (1994) as Bill Rago
• Junior (1994) as Dr. Larry Arbogast
• Get Shorty (1995) as Martin Weir^note Also producer
• Matilda (1996) as Harry Wormwood / Narrator^note Also producer and director
• Space Jam (1996) as Mr. Swackhammer
• Mars Attacks! (1996) as Rude Gambler
• The Rainmaker (1997) as Deck Shifflet
• Hercules (1997) as Philoctetes
• L.A. Confidential (1997) as Sid Hudgens
• Man on the Moon (1999) as George Shapiro^note Also producer
• The Virgin Suicides (1999) as Dr. Hornicker
• Drowning Mona (2000) as Chief Wyatt Rash^note Also executive producer
• What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001) as Max Fairbanks
• Heist (2001) as Mickey Bergman
• Death to Smoochy (2002) as Burke Bennet^note Also director
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) as Himself as 'Mini-Me'
• Duplex (2003) as Narrator^note Uncredited; also director
• Big Fish (2003) as Amos Calloway
• Be Cool (2005) as Martin Weir^note Also producer
• Deck the Halls (2006) as Buddy Hall
• When in Rome (2010) as Al
• The Lorax (2012) as The Lorax^note DeVito also provided the dialogue for the Italian, Mexican Spanish, European Spanish, German, and Russian dubs of the film.
• AnimalCrackers (2017) as Chesterfield
• Smallfoot (2018) as Dorgle
• Dumbo (2019) as Max Medici
• Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) as Eddie Gilpin
• The One and Only Ivan (2020) as Bob
• Haunted Mansion (2023) as Bruce

Television roles

• Starsky & Hutch (1977) as John 'John-John the Apple' DeAppoliso (episode: "The Collector")
• Taxi (1978-83) as Louie De Palma (114 episodes)
• Sesame Street (1988) as Vincent van Trash (episode: "2504")
• The Simpsons (1991-92, 2013) as Herb Powell (3 episodes)
• Friends (1994) as Officer Roy Goodbody (episode: "The One Where the Stripper Cries")
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2006-present) as Frank Reynolds
• The Kominsky Method (2019) as Dr. Wexler (2 episodes)
• Little Demon (2022-present) as The Devil
• Storybots Answer Time as Giuseppe the pizza guy
• History of the World Part II (2023-present) as Various

As a producer only

• Reality Bites (1994)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)
• Gattaca (1997)
• Out of Sight (1998)
• Erin Brockovich (2000)
• How High (2001)
• Camp (2003)
• Along Came Polly (2003)
• Garden State (2004)
• Freedom Writers (2007)
• Reno 911!: Miami (2007)
• A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

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Tropes associated with Danny DeVito!

• Affably Evil: Most of his characters are slimy, untrustworthy weasels with almost no morals but his boundless charisma, utter confidence and absolute commitment and total lack of shame about how horrible they are make them impossible not to like.
• Alliterative Name: Danny DeVito.
• Ascended Meme: Has become an icon online largely due to the popularity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, among other things.
• Black Comedy: A constant with his work, from his performances in films like Get Shorty, Batman Returns, and Ruthless People, to directing The War of the Roses, Matilda^note a children's film, but still darkly comic as a faithful Roald Dahl adaptation and Death to Smoochy, to his decade-long-plus run on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Many of his characters know full well how sleazy, amoral and generally awful they are and are not the least bit ashamed of it. It's part of what makes them so hard to dislike.
• Cloudcuckoolander: A lot of his characters tend to be rather eccentric, most notably Frank Reynolds.
• Cool Old Guy: Most of his recent characters qualify by default due to his charisma. He's also very much this in real life which is part of why he's so popular online.
• Deadpan Snarker: Is frequently cast as characters with an acerbic wit.
• Depraved Dwarf: Not technically a dwarf, but he is close enough, so it works for many of his sleazier characters.
• Gonk: His unique appearance allows him to play a variety of roles that utilize this trope, such as The Penguin or Frank Reynolds. It's also contributed in-part to his memetic status.
• Guttural Growler: He has a distinctively raspy voice.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Philoctetes, and, to a lesser extent, the Lorax.
• Jerkass: His characters are usually sleazy, amoral and completely untrustworthy.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even his good-guy characters - such as Philoctetes from Hercules - are usually rude and abrasive.
• Joisey: As indicated by his Central New Jersey accent, as well as the fact that he was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey and grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
• Kavorka Man: His characters seem to have little problem with women despite his appearance and aforementioned terrible personalities. His internet status is also partially based on this trope, given that he is frequently cited as hot.
• Large Ham: Very loud and expressive in nearly every role.
• The Napoleon: He is 4'10, which plays into both his roles and his public image.
• Wild Hair: His gradual balding has reduced it to a few messy tufts.

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