Danny DeVito peeled the curtain back on his acting process by describing how he pulled off his hilarious naked couch scene in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
The wacky scene, which immediately became a fan favorite, aired in the FXX comedy's Season Six Christmas special. In it, DeVito's character, Frank, hides inside a couch at a holiday party in order to hear what his his former employees have to say about him — only to emerge gasping from the couch completely naked.
During a recent visit to "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the 77-year-old actor broke down the scene for the show's guest host, comedian Nikki Glaser, who called the scene "one of the best moments on TV ever."
DeVito recalled that when he first read the script featuring the nude scene, he thought, "OK, I'll do that."
"Then you get there and you get on the set ... it's also a party (in the scene), so there's like 50 people you don't know," he recalled.
Before baring all, DeVito was given a tiny garment to wear over his private parts so his "wanger" wasn't exposed. "They put a little cap on it," he explained as Glaser and the audience laughed.
The show's makeup people sprayed him with an "oil" to help him to look sweaty when his character climbed, breathless, out from the sofa.
"So now you're like back there waiting for your cue and you're going to slide out of this thing naked like a halibut," he continued to more laughter.
In the script, DeVito climbs out of the couch, gasping, "Hot, hot, hot, hot!" And his co-star Kaitlin Olson has the very next line.
But when it came time to film the scene, Olson went completely blank at the sight of him.
"There's this great (blooper video) on YouTube where Kaitlyn forgets to say her line It's like she's just looking right at me," he said, imitating Olson's dumbstruck expression.
"Like a big blob of greasy flesh," he added.
During the interview, the actor, who stars as the devil in the new FXX series “Little Demon,” shared a funny story about his friendship with Arnold Schwarzenegger behind the scenes on the 1988 movie “Twins.”
It seems the two were watching their weight during filming of the movie, with Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder who won the title of Mr. Universe at age 20, having an on-set exercise studio.
“We’re on a diet. I’m always on a diet. I’ve been on a diet since I was 10! So we’re doing ‘Twins.’ He's got a big truck because he’s a big movie star. He’s got a giant truck with all this workout equipment that follows us around wherever you go,” recalled DeVito.
“So in the afternoon at lunch time, I said, ‘Look, I’m going to come in there and work out with you,’” continued the actor, revealing that he would tool around on an exercise bike at a low level "for 15 minutes" while Schwarzenegger really pushed himself.
DeVito took pride in his effort, believing he was shedding pounds. But once back in Schwarzenegger’s trailer, an employee from craft services showed up with “mounds" of dessert.
That’s when DeVito lashed out at his co-star, asking him, “What are you trying to do to me?!”
DeVito imitated Schwarzenegger shoveling food into his own mouth while encouraging him to eat just as heartily.
“He’s putting weight on me!" recalled DeVito. "I just killed myself for 15 minutes!”