The role Danny DeVito always dreamed of playing again: “One of the greatest parts”
Whether you know him as the genius that is Frank from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or as the diminutive stripper in Friends or going up against Arnold Schwarzenegger in Twins, there are few more unmistakable actors as Danny DeVito.
Many of a certain age will remember his absolutely unhinged turn as Penguin in 1992’s Batman Returns, the monocled, top-hatted, pint-sized psycho who went up against Michael Keaton’s ‘Caped Crusader’ and pretty much stole the show.
It was Tim Burton’s sequel to his first Batman film, and he took it in a darker direction, with Michelle Pfeiffer coming on board as the slinky Catwoman and brandishing a whip, being entirely suggestive and thereby pretty much alienating the young audience from the original. Although that resulted in Burton being relieved of directing duties for the next one, Batman and Robin, the first two films are far cooler, so he won that one, to be honest.
It was a big box office success, and in no small part (excuse the pun) due to DeVito, who put his all into Oswald Cobblepot and his sewer-dwelling madness. Covered in hours of prosthetics every day, he managed to convey genuine complexity of character while still being a completely amoral lunatic.
DeVito is a riot throughout the film, carrying an umbrella that never actually gets used, ghostly white of face and screaming about being an animal and not a human being (which, when you have flippers for fingers, is probably not a lie). DeVito remembers the role fondly and doesn’t rule out slipping on the waistcoat, fat suit and makeup in the future.
He told Parade: “Oh, yeah! I talk to Tim [Burton] all the time about it. I think Oswald is one of the most operatic and greatest parts I’ve ever been offered to do. He’s a tragic bird who could not fly. Come on! Gimme a break! Every actor wants to be able to do that. And if there were ever a chance to do it again, I’d do it.”
Most recently, thanks to the latest Batman reboot in 2022 with Robert Pattinson, Penguin has been given a new lease of life, with Colin Farrell’s portrayal proving so effective, he landed his own HBO spin-off, The Penguin, that aired last year.
That took the character in a very different direction again, eschewing Burton’s gothic cartoon visions for a modern-day mob boss. But critics loved it just the same, handing the show three Golden Globe nominations with Farrell winning for ‘Best Actor’. DeVito is certainly a fan of the Irishman’s work, adding, “I love Colin [Farrell]. He’s a good friend of mine. And he’s done great things with his Penguin stuff [in The Batman]. But that’s a different kind of Penguin. I like going big in a lot of ways, whether it’s Sunny or Taxi.“
It’s Always Sunny just concluded a 17th season on FX, and DeVito has recently spoken about the possibility of the show ending after one more instalment, stating that if the audiences are happy and it’s done well, then maybe it might be “a good thing to do”.
But at the moment ‘the gang’ continue with their madcap adventures and even at 80, DeVito shows no signs of stopping. He’s still doing voice-over work for Rick and Morty, and also this year appeared in another Philadelphia-based comedy, Abbot Elementary.
