Danny DeVito has a favorite memory of working with ex Rhea Perlman on ‘Matilda’
It may have been a bad hair day for Danny DeVito, but one wild scene is his best memory of working with ex Rhea Perlman on the movie “Matilda.”
“I think when they bleach my hair is my favorite,” DeVito, 79, told The Post of the 1996 film in which he played Mr. Wormwood.
“I came in, and Rhea [as Mrs. Wormwood] is coming out of the kitchen — giving me my sugar-coated cereal we eat at the Wormwood house. And she goes, ‘Snickerdoodle!’ and she throws it up in the air when she sees me.
“I think that’s one of my favorites. The kids — Matilda and her brother sitting there — give me that deadpan look.”
DeVito, who also directed the family flick based on Roald Dahl’s cherished novel, will revisit the film during the upcoming “Matilda in Concert” event at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick.
The actor will play the narrator onstage, like he did in the movie, while the New Jersey Symphony will play David Newman’s score. Perlman, who separated from DeVito in 2017, and “Matilda” herself Mara Wilson will join him on Friday, March 22.
The exes first announced their separation in October 2012. They later reconciled in March 2013 before splitting for good. They have daughters Lucy, 41, and Grace, 38, and son Jacob, 36.
“We’re trying to get a few of the other characters who were in the movie to come and visit with us that night,” DeVito added.
Fans will get to hear the live music while they watch actor Jimmy Karz, as hungry Bruce, scarf down a mountain of decadent dessert on screen. DeVito said that shot 28 years ago was particularly memorable.
“I did a lot of takes on the chocolate cake,” he said. “Our Bruce Bogtrotter — wonderful young man — and we had lots of cake.
“Emily Ferry was our prop mistress. She made tons of cake, and Jimmy just ate. We did it with all those kids in the room. It was so much fun. I mean, like, we shot that all day.
“And the cake was good, too!’
Another of DeVito’s roles has been on viewers’ minds lately — Vincent in 1988’s “Twins.”
He reunited with co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Oscars, and the pair staged a fun bit with Michael Keaton — the Batman to their respective Penguin and Mr. Freeze.
DeVito said a new movie with Schwarzenegger, 76, could be on the way.
“Warner Brothers is run now by [co-chair] Pam Abdy, and we’ve talked to her about a movie for Arnold and I,” the actor told The Post.
“We’re thinking about it. It may not be related to ‘Twins’ or may not be related to other things that we’ve done — ‘Junior’ or ‘Batman.’ I mean, I think the two of us in a kind of fun situation. I love hanging out with him. It’s a really cool thing, and we have an easy time of it. And he’s such a nice guy.”
“Matilda in Concert” takes place at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick on March 22. “Matilda” is also available to buy on 4K now.
