Danny DeVito names his favourite comic actors: “My heart belongs to dark comedy”
While there’s no shortage of comedy stars vying for the top spot, Danny DeVito might well be the most loved of them all.
Sure, the likes of Steve Carell, Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell might have plenty of fan support, but DeVito is one of those actors who is beloved in every corner of the entertainment industry. He also happens to be a multi-hyphenate with directing, producing and writing credits to his name across a diverse array of genres.
Despite this illustrious career, he will always be known for his comedic chops, given the fact that he seems to bring a glimmer of them to everything he does. Even when he’s playing a more serious character, there’s always an undercurrent of the cartoonish. He’s just a funny guy!
Though it wasn’t actually comedy that first got him into film (surprisingly, it was the political powerhouse Battle of Algiers), he obviously has his favourites when it comes to comic actors. “I love slapstick,” he told Cigaraficionado, which will come as a surprise to absolutely no one.
Anyone who’s seen Rhea Perlman attempt to pull a hat off his head in Matilda or gyrate and thrust around the set of Friends as a stripper knows that DeVito is well acquainted with the genre of humour that involves exaggerated movements and plenty of physical comedy. He goes on, “I’m a big fan of Jerry Lewis and the Marx brothers and the Three Stooges.”
So, just some of the biggest names in comic history, then? Jerry Lewis was literally named the ‘King of Comedy’ and is considered by most to be among the best comedians of the 20th century, but also for his unique approach to filmmaking as seen in masterpieces like The Bellboy.
He was known for his physically expressive and volatile style, unique voices, physical stunts and improvisations that inspired a whole generation of comic actors such as Carrey, Steve Martin and Richard Pryor. Even film buffs will know him from Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, where he plays a character very similar to himself, Jerry Langford. It’s a monumental legacy that is diminished by the fact that he was accused of alleged sexual assault by multiple women in 2022.
The rest of the actors’ list goes back to the early 20th-century vaudeville era. The Marx brothers were a comedy team made up of three siblings: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho. They were known on Broadway and for comedy productions like Duck Soup. Their rapid-fire wordplay and anarchic sense of humour are still cited as an influence for many today and were even admired by writers, musicians, and actors. Hell, they’re even heavily referenced in Gilmore Girls.
As for the Three Stooges, they’re still very much a household name over 60 years after their final short film was released. Also a vaudevillian comedy troupe, they made a total of 190 short comedy films and were beloved for their more low-brow, farcical slapstick style. While they’ve been criticised by comedy scholars for this, this more accessible humour is probably why they’re still popular. You can clearly see their influence on DeVito.
After all, one of his most infamous roles is Frank Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. A dark, satirical sitcom based on a group of narcissistic friends who run an Irish bar in Philadelphia, DeVito is undoubtedly responsible for some of the show’s most ridiculous and hilarious moments—it’s nothing but low-brow, and that’s why we all love it, including the cast member himself, who got involved because of his love for the dark comedy in the show.
Despite his love for slapstick, it’s this type of dark humour he claims as his ultimate favourite, concluding, “My heart belongs to dark comedy. I feel a kindred spirit to that kind of humour. I like movies that point out the absurdities in life.”
