Danny DeVito Had One Requirement For His It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Role
America's sweetheart Danny DeVito has been a staple of the boundary-pushing comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" for years now, but the 78-year-old was actually the last main cast member to join the gang. DeVito didn't join the series until season two, but has been in nearly every episode since. The "Taxi" alum plays the father of Dennis and Dee Reynolds, although that title is up for debate. The series is a huge hit now, but the first few seasons didn't get a lot of attention, and the rest of the cast was totally unknown at the time. So how did a huge star like DeVito get roped into a gritty underdog show like "Sunny?" The truth is that the comedian was a huge fan of the sitcom from the get-go, but he still had one condition before signing on.
DeVito was first introduced to the cast of "Sunny" through Emmy-nominated producer John Landgraf. Landgraf produced the hit comedy series "Reno 911!" and was working as the CEO of FX, the network behind "Sunny," when the show first began. "Years and years ago at Jersey [Films], I worked with John Landgraf 'cause he was at NBC and I needed somebody to run my television department," the actor recalled on The Always Sunny Podcast. "And he came to work with me at Jersey Films. Okay, that was years and years ago. Then that all broke up. And then he got this gig with, you know, FX."
It was Landgraf that made the fateful connection between DeVito and the "Sunny" crew. "He called me one day," DeVito continued. "He said, 'I just did this show, eight episodes of some really crazy show that, you know, I'm like, oh, I don't know. You know, tell me what you — what's your opinion?' So he sent me the eight episodes."
Frank had to be an organic character
Luckily for the "Sunny" creators — and fans — DeVito was instantly amused by the show. The only people who thought it was funnier than the "Batman Returns" star were his own children. "Rhea and I and the kids watched the show," he recounted. "I loved it. It was f***ing outrageous, just the way they are, okay. And we all, you know, I immediately said, 'Yeah, this is, like, an amazing show. You should, whatever you're going to do with it,' I don't know."
But it wasn't until Landgraf called him again six months later that DeVito considered joining the cast. When the FX exec told the actor that they wanted him on the show, he had only one prerequisite. "All of a sudden [Landgraf] calls me up, he says, 'Would you be interested in being on the show?'" DeVito added. "And I said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'If they come up with an organic character, something that was not just Danny DeVito coming into a show, if it made sense,' and blah, blah, blah. All that kind of stuff."
So the "Sunny" creators — Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day, who also co-star in the sitcom — got to work on a character for DeVito. And boy did they deliver: Frank isn't just Dennis and Dee's estranged father, he's a misanthropic billionaire who has chosen a life of debauchery and filth after leaving his cheating wife and rejecting polite society. "It was a good character," he went on. "And so they wrote me in. And, of course, my two kids are tall and blonde. And so I had to have eventually, as we all know, my wife was a w****. And so, you know, so that was my first involvement in the show."
Everyone told DeVito not to do Sunny
A lot of people didn't understand DeVito's attraction to the gritty sitcom or the curmudgeonly character. The actor said "even the doorman" asked him why he would do a show like "Sunny," but he went with his intuition and never had any regrets. "It's a gut feeling," he continued. "You feel comfortable. Then I had that meeting with you guys where we sat and talked about it and I was probably drunk [...] and you told me the story."
For some reason, Frank immediately charmed DeVito. It's not that the actor was looking for a role like Frank, but rather that the character's uniqueness spoke to him.
"I guess I look for parts that maybe appeal to me more in that sense, sure, but I don't go looking around for roles like, 'Oh I want to be a detective, oh, I want to be...' That's not my style," he explained in an interview with The Talks. "You do get a lot of the same parts offered to you though. After I did 'Taxi,' I got a lot of the rough around the edges, ruthless people, I-should-kill-my-wife-types, you know? In 'Tin Men,' well in 'Tin Men' I was kind of a good guy, in 'Matilda' I was kind of a rough dad but that's Roald Dahl, that's great."
Frank had the same roughness of all DeVito's other work, but with something entirely new about him that DeVito couldn't resist. "I don't know what it is about Frank," the actor confessed to the New York Times. "He's got the Midas touch, but he misses living in squalor. The one line that got me hooked to do the show was that I had a scene with Charlie Day, and I say [...] 'Let me come and live with you, man. I miss living in this Bohemian style.'"
But his kids helped convince him to take the part
Ever since his one condition was met, there's no extreme that DeVito won't go to for the "Sunny" creators. "So far, there's nothing they've come up with in their addled brains that I've refused," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I've been slimed, I've fallen out of windows, I've climbed out of couches naked, I've done all kinds of things."
But it wasn't just Frank's je ne sais quoi that made DeVito take the part — it was his children, who loved the show even more than he did. When DeVito was offered the role, his children "really encouraged" him to take it, per The Talks, but he still had to meet with the showrunner to discuss the part. McElhenney recalled his first time meeting DeVito at the "Jumanji" star's family home, and the moment that reassured him DeVito would be taking the role — not for himself, but for his kids.
"I remember I was really nervous and we weren't sure that it was gonna happen [...] and I had to go [to your house] and kind of pitch you the character that we had discussed," McElhenney reminded DeVito on The Always Sunny Podcast. "And Lucy [DeVito's eldest daughter] answered the door [...] and by the time you got there I knew that you were gonna do the show. And I knew you were because of how much Lucy loved the show.'"
DeVito confirmed that his children's enthusiasm stood out against the many nay-sayers and encouraged him to follow his gut and take the part. So when the Frankaholics are counting their blessings, they should include a special prayer for the show's brilliant writing, John Landgraf, and Lucy DeVito, whose combined powers brought us the genius that is Frank Reynolds, a.k.a. The Trash Man, f.k.a. Frankie Donkey Brains. Thanks, guys!