Rise to Fame
DeVito enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts to study cosmetics and stumbled into acting. He spent years doing Off-Broadway work until Louie De Palma, the despotic cab dispatcher on Taxi, made him a household name. The role earned him a Golden Globe and an Emmy, but the audition story tells you everything: he threw the script on the table and asked who wrote "this shit." They gave him the part anyway.
In the Spotlight
He spent the 1980s doing things most comedic actors don't attempt: directing dark films like Throw Momma from the Train, playing a genuinely unsettling Penguin in Batman Returns, and co-founding Jersey Films, which produced Pulp Fiction. He heard Quentin Tarantino pitch for ten minutes and said he wanted in on whatever came next. That same instinct for spotting material earned him a Best Picture nomination when Jersey Films produced Erin Brockovich. His Frank Reynolds on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been running since 2006 and Season 17 aired in 2025. The character gets worse every year, and that's the point.
Side Notes
He has Fairbank's disease, a bone growth condition that accounts for his 4'10" frame. He started in his sister's hair salon before acting. He met Rhea Perlman at a one-night play she attended to see a friend, and they moved in together two weeks later. They've separated twice but never divorced. His son Jacob was the one who pushed him to join Always Sunny after watching Season 1 as a fan.