Danny DeVito Nearly Took Legal Action Over ‘It’s Always Sunny’ Script

Danny DeVito recently opened up about a prank on the set of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia that almost pushed him to call his lawyer.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor explained how an April Fool’s joke from his castmates nearly crossed the line.

DeVito said he got a call one morning before filming and was told he needed to read a new script. “They had all this planned, of course — the nut jobs I work with, who I love dearly — so I started reading [the script] and it was really, really bad,” he said.

The fake episode was written in a way that made his character, Frank Reynolds, suffer more and more as the story went on. “Midway through, I said, ‘I’m not going to do this. There’s no way I can do this. This is really crazy.’”

The script ended with Frank being attacked by police officers and thrown to the ground. Then, one of the cops delivers the punchline: “April Fool’s mother*****.” That was when DeVito realized he had been tricked.

“I realized at that time that they had me totally wrapped around their little finger. I seriously was going to call my lawyer [and say], ‘Lawsuit, no way!’” he recalled.

But DeVito did not let the prank go unanswered. Later, he set up his own revenge during a trip to Washington, D.C. for a television event. He convinced hotel staff to trick the rest of the cast into thinking they had to share a tiny room with cots because there were no regular rooms available.

“They were all in the room, and I was in a closet with a bottle of tequila and glasses watching them react to the fact that this guy is telling them there’s no room in this hotel and this is the room that FX booked for them and they all had to sleep together on cots,” DeVito said. He finally jumped out to reveal the prank, saying, “I had ’em good.”

DeVito has been a part of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia since 2006, joining Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson and Glenn Howerton. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter how he would feel if the next season turns out to be the last, he gave a thoughtful answer.

“Well, as long as we have a good ending — I don’t know what the ending could be, they probably have one already figured out in their head. It would be hard to let go, but if it’s right and the audience is happy with it, then I think it’s a good thing to do.”

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