Danny DeVito is an American actor and filmmaker, who has been active in film since the 1970s. One of his earliest and most notable role was in Taxi; the hilarious comedy tv show on prime time television. He played the role Martini in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 alongside Jack Nicholson. In the 70s and 80s, he appeared in Car Wash (1976), Terms of Endearment (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984) and its sequel The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Twins (1988), and The War of the Roses (1989). In 1992, he was cast in the role of the villain Penguin opposite Michael Keaton's Batman in Batman Returns. In the 90's, he starred in Renaissance Man (1994), and co-starred in the films Get Shorty with Gene Hackman (1995), Matilda with wife Rhea Perlman, which he also directed and produced. He played George Shapiro in 1999's Man on the Moon opposite Jim Carrey, who played Andy Kaufman, a real-life friend of DeVito's.
He appeared in his third movie with Bette Midler in 2000's Drowning Mona (2000), and his fourth movie with John Travolta in 2005's Be Cool. He added his voice to the 2012 film The Lorax, and co-starred with Keaton again in Dumbo as Max Medici (2019). He appeared in the sequel film (2019).
DeVito played the role of Louie De Palma in the television series Taxi from 1978 to 1983, airing in 114 episodes. That role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1979) and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1980). He guest starred in several television series over the years such as Starsky and Hutch (1977), Friends (2004) and The Simpsons (1991, 1992, 2013). He has starred in the television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Frank Reynolds since 2006.
He and wife Rhea Perlman founded the production company Jersey Films in 1992, which have produced such films as Pulp Fiction (1994), Gattaca (1997), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Garden State (2004).[1]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 | Dreams of Glass | Thug | |||
1971 | Lady Liberty | Fred Mancuso | |||
1972 | Hot Dogs for Gauguin | Adrian | Short film | ||
1973 | Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30 | Petey | |||
Scalawag | 'Fly' Speck | ||||
1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Martini | |||
Deadly Hero | Harry | ||||
1976 | Car Wash | Joe | Deleted scenes | ||
data-sort-value="Money, The" | The Money | Bartender | |||
1977 | data-sort-value="Van, The" | The Van | Andy | ||
data-sort-value="World's Greatest Lover, The" | The World's Greatest Lover | Assistant Director | |||
1978 | Goin' South | 'Hog' | |||
1979 | Swap Meet | Max | |||
1981 | Going Ape! | Lazlo | |||
1983 | Terms of Endearment | Vernon Dahlart | |||
1984 | Romancing the Stone | Ralph | |||
Johnny Dangerously | Burr | ||||
1985 | data-sort-value="Jewel of the Nile, The" | The Jewel of the Nile | Ralph | ||
Head Office | Frank Steadman | ||||
1986 | Wise Guys | Harry Valentini | |||
Ruthless People | Sam Stone | ||||
My Little Pony: The Movie | Grundle King | Voice | [2] | ||
1987 | Tin Men | Ernest Tilley | |||
Throw Momma from the Train | Owen Lift | Also director | |||
1988 | Twins | Vincent Benedict | |||
1989 | data-sort-value="War of the Roses, The" | The War of the Roses | Gavin D'Amato | Also director | |
1991 | Other People's Money | Larry Garfield | |||
1992 | Batman Returns | Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin | |||
Hoffa | Bobby Ciaro | Also director and producer | |||
1993 | Jack the Bear | John Leary | |||
Last Action Hero | Whiskers | Uncredited voice | |||
Look Who's Talking Now | Rocks | Voice | |||
1994 | Renaissance Man | Bill Rago | |||
Junior | Dr. Larry Arbogast | ||||
1995 | Get Shorty | Martin Weir | Also producer | ||
1996 | Matilda | Harry Wormwood / Narrator | Also director and producer | [3] | |
Space Jam | Swackhammer | Voice | [4] | ||
Mars Attacks! | Rude Gambler | ||||
1997 | data-sort-value="Rainmaker, The" | The Rainmaker | Deck Shifflet | ||
Hercules | Philoctetes | Voice | [5] | ||
L.A. Confidential | Sid Hudgens | ||||
Men in Black | Alien on TV Monitor | Uncredited cameo | |||
1998 | Living Out Loud | Pat Francato | Also producer | ||
1999 | data-sort-value="Big Kahuna, The" | The Big Kahuna | Phil Cooper | ||
Man on the Moon | George Shapiro | Also producer | |||
data-sort-value="Virgin Suicides, The" | The Virgin Suicides | Dr. Hornicker | |||
2000 | Drowning Mona | Wyatt Rash | Also producer | ||
Screwed | Grover Cleaver | ||||
2001 | Heist | Bergman | |||
What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Max Fairbanks | ||||
2002 | Death to Smoochy | Burke Bennet | Also director | ||
Austin Powers in Goldmember | Himself as Mini-Me | ||||
2003 | Anything Else | Harvey Wexler | |||
Duplex | Narrator | Uncredited voice; also director | |||
Big Fish | Amos Calloway | ||||
2004 | Christmas in Love | Brad LaGuardia | |||
2005 | Be Cool | Martin Weir | Also producer | ||
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School | Booth | ||||
2006 | Relative Strangers | Frank Menure | Also producer | ||
Even Money | Walter | ||||
10 Items or Less | 'Big D' | ||||
data-sort-value="Oh in Ohio, The" | The Oh in Ohio | Wayne | |||
Deck the Halls | Buddy Hall | ||||
2007 | data-sort-value="Good Night, The" | The Good Night | Mel | ||
District Attorney | Also producer | ||||
Nobel Son | Gastner | ||||
2008 | Just Add Water | Merl Stryker | |||
2009 | House Broken | Tom 'Smokey' Cathkart | |||
Solitary Man | Jimmy | ||||
2010 | When in Rome | Al | |||
2011 | Girl Walks into a Bar | Aldo | |||
Revenge of the Electric Car | Himself | Documentary | |||
2012 | data-sort-value="Lorax, The" | The Lorax | The Lorax | Voice (multilanguage voice-over) | [6] |
Hotel Noir | Eugene Portland | ||||
2014 | All the Wilderness | Dr. Pembry | |||
2016 | Curmudgeons | Jackie | Short film; also director and producer | ||
Wiener-Dog | Dave Schmerz | ||||
data-sort-value="Comedian, The" | The Comedian | Jimmy Berkowitz | |||
2017 | Animal Crackers | Chesterfield | Voice | ||
2018 | Smallfoot | Dorgle | [7] | ||
2019 | Dumbo | Max Medici | |||
Eddie Gilpin | [8] | ||||
2020 | data-sort-value="One and Only Ivan, The" | The One and Only Ivan | Bob | Voice | |
2021 | data-sort-value="Survivor, The" | The Survivor | Charlie Goldman | [9] | |
2023 | Haunted Mansion | Bruce | |||
Poolman | Jack | ||||
Migration | Uncle Dan | Voice | |||
2024 | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Janitor | |||
A Sudden Case of Christmas | Lawrence |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Delvecchio | Anthony 'Beanzie' Marott | Episode: "Requiem For A Loser" | [10] | |
Starsky & Hutch | John 'John-John The Apple' DeAppoliso | Episode: "The Collector" | [11] | ||
Police Woman | Napoleon | Episode: "Death Game" | |||
All That Glitters | Baba | 10 episodes | [12] | ||
1978 - 1983 | Taxi | Louie De Palma | 114 episodes | ||
1979 | Angie | Uncle Cheech | Episode: "Uncle Cheech" | ||
1980 | data-sort-value="Associates, The" | The Associates | Alan Swathmore | Episode: "The Out of Town Trip" | |
1982 | data-sort-value="Selling of Vince D'Angelo, The" | The Selling of Vince D'Angelo | Vince D'Angelo | Short film
| |
1982 - 1999 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | 6 episodes | [13] | |
1984 | data-sort-value="Ratings Game, The" | The Ratings Game | Vic De Salvo | Television film
| |
CBS Schoolbreak Special | Ackroyd | Episode: "All the Kids Do It" | |||
1985 | Amazing Stories | Herbert | Episode: "The Wedding Ring" | ||
1986 | George Johnson | Voice Television special/Television film for PBS, later, VHS video | [14] [15] [16] [17] | ||
1988 | Sesame Street | Vincent van Trash | Episode: "2504" | ||
1989 | Molly and the Skywalkerz: Two Daddies? | George Johnson | Voice Television special/Television film for PBS, later, VHS video | [18] [19] [20] | |
1990 | data-sort-value="Earth Day Special, The" | The Earth Day Special | Vic | Television special | |
1991–1992; 2013; 2024 | data-sort-value="Simpsons, The" | The Simpsons | Herb Powell | Voice; 4 episodes | [21] [22] |
1994 | data-sort-value="Larry Sanders Show, The" | The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode: "The Gift Episode" | |
1997 | Pearl | Dean Martin | Episode: "Dean Cuisine" | ||
2002 | Ed | Dr. Jack Carmichael | Episode: "Human Nature" | ||
2003 | Karen Sisco | Charlie Lucre | 2 episodes | ||
2004 | Friends | Officer Roy Goodbody | Episode: "The One Where the Stripper Cries" | [23] | |
Father of the Pride | Emerson | Voice Episode: "And the Revolution Continues" | |||
2006–present | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Frank Reynolds | 165 episodes | ||
2015 | Deadbeat | Giuseppe Monamocce | Episode: "The Occult Leader" | ||
2018 | data-sort-value="Kominsky Method, The" | The Kominsky Method | Dr. Wexler | 2 episodes | |
2021 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Himself/Chemist | Episode: "Chemicals" | ||
2022 | Little Demon | Satan | Voice, 10 episodes; also executive producer | ||
Storybots: Answer Time | Giuseppe | Episode: "Multiplication" | |||
2023 | Big City Greens | Merv Stampington | Voice, episode: "Long Goodbye" |
Year | Title | Voice role | |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Disney's Animated Storybook Hercules | Philoctetes | [24] |
Disney's Hercules |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Shoot Anything With Hair That Moves | Frank | Off-Broadway | [25] | |
data-sort-value="Man With the Flower in His Mouth, The" | The Man With the Flower in His Mouth | Friend Pe' (Jar), Marranca | |||
1971 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Anthony Martini | |||
1973 | data-sort-value="Phantasmoria Historia of D. Johann Fausten Magister, A" | A Phantasmoria Historia of D. Johann Fausten Magister | Performer | ||
1974 | data-sort-value="Merry Wives of Windsor, The" | The Merry Wives of Windsor | John Rugby | ||
1975 | data-sort-value="Comedy of Errors, The" | The Comedy of Errors | Balthazar, Solinus | Understudy/Off-Broadway | |
2012-13 | data-sort-value="Sunshine Boys, The" | The Sunshine Boys | Willie Clark | Savoy Theatre Ahmanson Theatre | |
2017 | data-sort-value="Price, The" | The Price | Gregory Solomon | American Airlines Theatre | |
2023 | data-sort-value="I Need That" | I Need That | Sam | [26] |
Year | Title | Artist | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | "Ghostbusters" | Ray Parker Jr. | [27] | |
1986 | "When the Going Gets Tough" | [28] | ||
1997 | "Wear My Hat" | [29] | ||
1998 | "Victory" | [30] | ||
2006 | "Mojo" | Peeping Tom | ||
2014 | "Steal My Girl" | [31] |
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes | Refs. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | data-sort-value="Selling of Vince D'Angelo, The" | The Selling of Vince D'Angelo | Short film | |||
1984 | data-sort-value="Ratings Game, The" | The Ratings Game | Television film | |||
1987 | Throw Momma from the Train | |||||
1989 | data-sort-value="War of the Roses, The" | The War of the Roses | ||||
1992 | Hoffa | |||||
1994 | Reality Bites | |||||
8 Seconds | ||||||
Pulp Fiction | ||||||
1995 | Get Shorty | |||||
1996 | Matilda | |||||
Sunset Park | ||||||
Feeling Minnesota | ||||||
1997 | Gattaca | |||||
1998 | Out of Sight | |||||
Living Out Loud | ||||||
1999 | Man on the Moon | |||||
2000 | Erin Brockovich | |||||
Drowning Mona | ||||||
2001 | How High | |||||
2002 | Death to Smoochy | |||||
2003 | Camp | |||||
Duplex | ||||||
2004 | Along Came Polly | |||||
Garden State | ||||||
2005 | Be Cool | |||||
Queen B | Television pilot | [32] | ||||
2006 | Even Money | |||||
Relative Strangers | ||||||
2007 | Freedom Writers | |||||
2012 | St. Sebastian | Unreleased | [33] | |||
2014 | data-sort-value="Walk Among the Tombstones, A" | A Walk Among the Tombstones | ||||
2016 | Curmudgeons | Short film | ||||
2022 | Little Demon | Television series | ||||
TBA | The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle | Also writer | [34] |