That 4’10” Danny DeVito has the career he does indicates that it’s possible for men of varying personal appearance to still be successful in Hollywood, though I imagine that, if you asked him, he’d agree that he probably would have had a better career if he’d looked like, say, Paul Newman. It’s a little frustrating how much emphasis is put on his size and how little is put on the fact that, over more than fifty years, he’s been doing solid work that is well worth delving into beyond the egg meme, which you probably only get if you watch Always Sunny.
He does, in fact, have multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a condition that affects one in 10,000 births. It sounds, reading the Wikipedia page—one of those written by an expert for people who will understand the technical language and therefore one I don’t fully understand—as though it leaves him in a lot of pain and has since he was a child. I can sympathize, especially as one of the possible side effects is scoliosis, a condition I have myself. A lot of his early roles relied on him being a Short Angry Man, which to be fair is a role at which he excels and one his medical history prepared him for.
Don’t get me wrong; he’s very good at playing the Short Angry Man. I’m not a huge Taxi fan (pause so you can all yell at me), but it’s not surprising that he came to prominence from it. He’s extremely funny as Short Angry Man Louie De Palma. He used the role to launch a successful film career in the best way possible; he stayed on Taxi through its run and therefore didn’t have people waiting for his downfall for daring to want something else in his life and career. It meant that, from that point on, when people thought Short Angry Man, they thought Danny DeVito.
Another niche he carved for himself, one I frankly enjoy more, is Short Devious Man. This is the character he first really developed in Romancing the Stone. There’s crossover between the two, goodness knows, but what I think the difference is comes from the Short Devious Man’s generally having decided that anger isn’t worth his time. He can get his way because people will take him for granted. He’s going to be underrated because he’s 4’10”. Fair enough. But he’s smart, and he’s sneaky, and he’s going to get what he wants regardless of what it takes.
Honestly I’d love to see a movie starring, like, DeVito and Rhea Perlman and Peter Dinklage and so forth where their height isn’t an issue. Where they’re all treated seriously as people and allowed to really show their acting chops. I’m happy that it turns out that DeVito’s Jersey Mike’s commercials are because he’s been eating there forever and really likes the food, and I’m happy he’s got a long, successful career. I’ve just seen enough of it to know that he could do more. For one thing, he’s in the funniest moment of an obscure comedy, Ten Items or Less, and I highly recommend it.
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