Danny DeVito
Actor
About This Interview
Actor/Producer/Director Danny DeVito was interviewed for nearly three hours in North Hollywood, CA. He talks about his early love of television and film, and reminisces about growing up in New Jersey. He speaks of early roles in films such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" and early TV roles on Starsky and Hutch. He discusses, at length, landing the role of "Louie De Palma" on Taxi, for which he won an Emmy, and describes his costars - including the comedian Andy Kaufman. DeVitor also recalls his wife Rhea Perlman's guest appearance on that show, and recounts his own guest appearances on TV comedies such as Friends and The Simpsons. He touches on his production company, Jersey Films, and some of its projects. He speaks in great detail about his latest role as "Frank Reynolds" on F/X's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, created by Rob McElhenney. Amy Harrington conducted the interview on July 27, 2011.
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Highlights
Danny DeVito on the legacy of "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
Danny DeVito on his physical typeChapters
- Chapter 1
- On his "new look" - blonde hair for a movie he was shooting during this interview; he talks about the new phase of "Television on the internet"; on the state of his hair on his current show It's Always Sunny in Philadephia
- On his early family life; on growing up in New Jersey; an early love of movies
- On loving to watch television as a kid; on his education
- On acting in high school; on growing up Italian-American
- On going to beauty school; on trying to enroll in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
- On starting a career in television; on appearing on Cuckoo's Nest off-Broadway; on All That Glitters;
- On the value of television and its future on the internet; on being able to watch television on-demand
- On getting cast on Taxi; on his character Louie DePalma
- Chapter 2
- On his early television work: Starsky & Hutch,
- On his Taxi co-stars; Andy Kaufman, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd; on a guest-appearance by his mother and by his wife Rhea Pearlman
- On his Taxi character Louie De Palma; on how much he enjoyed the role
- On why he went back to television with his current sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; on Charlie Day and his Sunny cast; on how his Taxi fans might react to his new character; comparing "Frank" and "Louie"
- On Louie De Palma's special "space" on Taxi; what he kept in that space and how he decorated it; on the legacy of that role; on Taxi being cancelled then picked up again by NBC; on his SNL appearance; on changes with censorship on TV
- On the changing face of television and new media
- Chapter 3
- On his physical type; on the end of Taxi; on the show's legacy
- On what he watches on TV now;
- On the film "Man on the Moon" about his Taxi co-star Andy Kaufman; on his appearances on Friends as Uncle Herb
- On why It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has tapped into the American psyche
- On what he looks for in a film in order to take a role: five good things
- On his proudest achievements and career advice to actors; on his directing style; on meeting Milton Berle and Red Buttons
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Terrific interview -- and really fun
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