Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (November 17, 1944, Neptune Township, New Jersey, USA) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series Taxi (1978–1983), which won him a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. He plays Frank Reynolds on the FX and FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2006–present).
He is known for his film roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Terms of Endearment (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Twins (1988), The War of the Roses (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Jack the Bear (1993), Junior (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Matilda (1996), L.A. Confidential (1997), The Big Kahuna (1999), Big Fish (2003), Deck the Halls (2006), When in Rome (2010), Wiener-Dog (2016) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). He is also known for his voice roles in such films as Hercules (1997), The Lorax (2012) and Smallfoot (2018).
In 2017, he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Price. DeVito and Michael Shamberg founded Jersey Films. Soon afterwards, Stacey Sher became an equal partner. The production company is known for films such as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, and Freedom Writers. DeVito also owned Jersey Television, which produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. DeVito and wife Rhea Perlman starred together in his 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's children's novel. DeVito was also one of the producers nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for Erin Brockovich (2000).
DeVito was born at Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial Hospital in Neptune Township, New Jersey, the son of Daniel DeVito Sr., a small business owner, and Julia DeVito (née Moccello). He grew up in a family of five, with his parents and two older sisters. He is of Italian descent; his family is originally from San Fele, Basilicata, as well as Calabria. He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey; notably, he would live just miles away from the original Jersey Mike's location and would eat there frequently, which would partially inspire him to become the sub shop's first-ever celebrity spokesman in a line of commercials that began to air in September 2022.
work included Other People's Money with Gregory Peck; director Barry Levinson's Tin Men, as a rival salesman to Richard Dreyfuss' character; the comedies Junior (1994) and Twins (1988) with Arnold Schwarzenegger; playing the villain The Penguin in director Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992); and the film adaptation Matilda (1996), which he directed and co-produced, along with playing the role of Matilda's father, the villainous car dealer Harry Wormwood.
In 1986, he directed and starred in the black comedy "The Wedding Ring", a season 2 episode of Steven Spielberg's anthology series Amazing Stories, where his character acquires an engagement ring for his wife (played by DeVito's real-life wife, actress Rhea Perlman). When the ring is slipped on his wife's finger, she is possessed by the ring's former owner, a murderous black widow. That year, DeVito also voiced the Grundle King in My Little Pony: The Movie. In 1990, he and Rhea Perlman played the couple Vic & Paula, commenting on the state of the environment in The Earth Day Special. In 1991 and 1992, DeVito voiced Herb Powell in the episodes "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" of The Simpsons. In 1996, he provided the voice of Mr. Swackhammer in Space Jam. In 1997, he was the voice of Philoctetes in the film Hercules.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 
|
Philoctetes | Hercules |
| 1986 | 
|
Grundle King | My Little Pony: The Movie |