Danny DeVito names his biggest acting inspiration: “Without a doubt”
He is known by many names: the Trashman, Matilda’s Dad, that small guy from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. To most people, however, he is simply Danny DeVito.
For someone who could have so easily been pigeonholed due to his appearance, DeVito has proven he is actually one of the most versatile actors working today. Just when you think he’s over the hill, he comes roaring back with a project that makes him more popular than ever.
It’s not just in front of the camera where the man from Neptune, New Jersey, shines. He’s directed several feature films, including the Oscar-nominated Hoffa and Matilda, with an excellent starring role to boot, and as a producer, he’s been key in getting huge movies off the ground, most notably Pulp Fiction. This is all very impressive, but we all know it’s as an actor that DeVito has done his best work.
Prior to making his movie debut in 1970, he fell into acting by total chance. He was working as a beautician at his sister’s salon and, after inquiring about doing makeup for films, decided that a performer’s life was for him. Even before that, however, he had always been attracted to film, with one star in particular serving as his favourite. As he told The Independent, he had a soft spot for the great Sir Alec Guinness in his youth.
“Any time Alec was in a movie, we’d go to see it without a doubt,” he recalled, “Kind Hearts and Coronets, I love it, and The Bridge on the River Kwai. I remember when that was playing; they built a big bamboo bridge in front of the St James Theatre as a publicity stunt.”
He expounded on his love for films, admitting, “And we watched a lot of films on TV. I still love going to the movies. I go in the afternoon when nobody bugs me and the theatre’s empty, I get my popcorn and enjoy myself—it’s the best entertainment.”
Aside from Obi-Wan Kenobi in ‘Star Wars’, which he hated, by the way, The Bridge on the River Kwai is arguably Guinness’ most famous movie. It’s the film that landed him the ‘Best Actor’ prize at the Oscars, if that’s anything to go by. On the other hand, Kind Hearts and Coronets from 1949 is much more obscure. This Ealing comedy centres on a scorned aristocrat who sets out to murder the eight members of his family who are ahead of him in the line of succession. All eight of the intended victims are played by Guinness, which has got to be some kind of record.
DeVito was born in 1944, so he was probably a bit young for Kind Hearts and Coronets, while The Bridge on the River Kwai came out when he was 13, so he would have been the prime age to witness the World War II drama in all its glory. Guinness was at his prime in the 1940s and 1950s, where, much like DeVito, he made his name in a range of comedies and dramas; it’s not hard to see why he is such an inspiration.
Sadly, DeVito never got a chance to act alongside his idol before his death in 2000. The fact that there is a direct link between Bridge on the River Kwai and The Lorax, however, will never not be funny.
