Noisemaker
I was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. I was the baby, my sister Theresa was 10 years older, my sister Angie was 16 years older, my mom had two sisters, and none of them shut up, ever. Itās an Italian family, so the decibel
level is out there.
A little smart aleck
I went to Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, because if your mother and father didnāt know what to do with you, they gave you to the nuns.
⦠and still a smart aleck
I remember when Peter, my nephew, was born. I was 7 years old, and I went over and looked into the bassinet, and the first thing he did was pee on me. It was great! I donāt think thereās a conversation Iāve had with the guy over all these years where I donāt bring up the fact that he peed on me.
Also an old softie
Do anything you can to keep on an even keel with your family and friends, no matter what happens in your life. Thatās all we have. Donāt hide things. Youāve got to get up every day thinking about how youāre going to make it easier for the people that youāre working with or that you love or that you eat breakfast with. Because itās infectious; everybody starts feeling good.
Falling into the business
Growing up, Iād spend the weekends at the movies, but I actually wasnāt even thinking about doing it. I got introduced to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in a roundabout way, took a couple classes, and I got the bug. And I thought, Iām not like Cary Grant, but I got a feel for this thing. So I studied, and then I went and started looking for jobs in New York, like every other actor does. I
didnāt care what the description wasāāmale, 6 foot 4, 250
poundsāāIād go out for the audition. Once I got in the
room, Iām going to do what Iām going to do.
Becoming Louie
I wanted that part, Louie DePalma [in Taxi]. I walked into
the room to audition in front of the four guys who created it, and I said, āOne thing I want to know before we start. Who wrote this shit?ā And I threw the script on the table. And I had a nanosecond of, did I screw everything up? Then they fell on the floor. Louie walked into their lives.
Sudden fame
I went to the market the day after the first episode aired, and people are stopping me on the street: āHey, Louie!ā They werenāt calling me Danny. After a couple of days of this, I called my publicist, and said, āThis is really crazy. People are chasing me down the street.ā He says, āDanny, you donāt have to worry until that stops happening.ā Now itās all, āFrank, Frank, Frank!ā because of Itās Always Sunny
in Philadelphia, which is good. The fans are all you have.
Still evolving
I think Iām bolder than Iāve ever beenāI donāt monitor myself as much. I do say things that are, like, pretty far out, that are really weird, and sometimes Iām inappropriate. But I am always respectful, and thatās because of my two sisters, I swear to God. You have to respect other peopleās space.
My happy place
Since my two grandbabies have been born, I am just in-
corrigible. You gotta tamp me down in the joy department, you know what Iām saying? Iām just so lucky. Blessings have been showered down on me. I wish that for everybody.And the thing is to be aware
of it. Donāt let it go. Rhea [Perlman, DeVitoās wife, from whom he is separated but with whom he still spends a lot of time] and I were always able to see those little, incremental changes when our kids were growing up. And I tell my kids that, with their babies: Donāt miss a thing, donāt look away.
A sudden case of holidays
Iām in the movie A Sudden Case of Christmas with my
daughter Lucy, who plays my daughter. Itās just a real warm, wonderful movie, and I loved doing it. As far as the actual holidays go, we have family dinners. Basically weāre Italian, so you know, anybody whoās around, we grab. We get to celebrate all the holidays, because Rheaās parents were Jewish, so we did all the Jewish holidays, and we do all the Catholic holidays or Italian holidays.
My mantra
Itās always a good thing to be positive about life, and always get out of bed thinking todayās the day youāre really going to kick its ass. Thatās the way to do it