Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman may not sleep under the same roof, but they’re still a united family.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, DeVito, who stars in the upcoming comedy “Poolman,” shared where he stands with his estranged wife over a decade after their split. The pair are still married, but live apart.
“We’re doing great,” Danny said. “We’re sharing our granddaughter, our new granddaughter, and we see each other all the time.”
Danny DeVito said that although he and Rhea Perlman don’t live together anymore, they are very much a family. The couple, who are still married, split in 2012. (Getty Images)
Rhea and Danny wed in 1982 and share three children: Lucy, Grace and Jake. They are also grandparents to their grandchild, Sinclair Lucille DeVito, who turned one on March 17.
‘BARBIE’ STAR RHEA PERLMAN SAYS SHE AND DANNY DEVITO ARE STILL MARRIED A DECADE AFTER SPLITTING UP
“Yesterday was Lucy’s birthday. We were together for the birthday party, and we had a family party,” DeVito continued. “We’re a tight family.”
WATCH: Danny DeVito says he and Rhea Perlman are ‘together in a lot of ways’
VideoDeVito told Fox News Digital how he and Rhea have been able to maintain a relationship-turned-friendship for decades.
“Well, you know, Rhea and I met, in well, 1970,” he began. “We’ve been together for that long, and you grow together. It’s like you really know how each other’s feeling all the time.”
He continued, “We participate in conversation daily. Lots and lots of talking and [doing] a lot of things together. We have three beautiful children, and now we have a granddaughter who is a year old, and we have one on the way. So the family’s growing.”
Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito share a son, Jake DeVito. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
DeVito shared that he had recently been on a vacation with Perlman and his family for a week.
“The whole family was together. I think that’s part of it,” he explained. “If you can do that, you know, no matter what your situation is, we don’t live together anymore, but we are together in a lot of ways.”
Rhea Perlman said she would never get a divorce from Danny DeVito. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
In 2020, Rhea was a guest on “Watch What Happens Live” and noted that she is “not getting divorced,” adding: “What for?”
DeVito and Perlman are connected with their children and grandchildren, but they have also collaborated professionally. In 1978, Rhea played Danny’s on-screen girlfriend in the sitcom “Taxi,” and in 1996 the couple starred in the iconic fantasy “Matilda.”
Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman co-starred in the hit sitcom “Taxi.” (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Danny and Rhea also co-starred in “Matilda” in 1996. (Getty Images)
The “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star remembers those times fondly and is proud that he and Perlman created something more than their “beautiful bunch of kids.” DeVito is enjoying his new role as a grandfather and told Fox News Digital, “There’s nothing like it. It’s off the charts.”
“I love being a dad and I love my kids. I loved raising them and then throwing up on me and whatever they do, whatever happens, happens,” DeVito continued. “I go over there a lot. I try not to be a pest, but I go over to their house.”
Danny explained the joy he has with little interactions with his granddaughter, which is a different responsibility from being a parent.
Lucy DeVito is one of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman’s daughters. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
“You get to watch them, you know, hold your fingers and grab your hair and take your glasses and squeeze their foot,” he said. “And then when you had enough, give them back to the parents, and you go – it’s great.”
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Danny and Rhea’s daughter, Lucy, is currently pregnant. DeVito told Fox News Digital that his children have seen him and their mother “in action firsthand, so they know what to do” when it comes to parenting.
“They know what the most important thing in the world is right now,” Danny said of his children. “And that’s that little baby. Everything else is just gravy, you know, like, this is the most important. That’s big time.”
Chris Pine, Annette Bening and Danny DeVito star in “Poolman.” (Vertical)
Danny’s latest film, “Poolman,” which also stars Chris Pine and Annette Bening, debuts in theaters on May 10. It follows Darren Barrenman (Chris Pine) as he looks after a pool at a Los Angeles apartment complex and also fights land developers and politicians to protect the natives of the city.
The film is Pine’s directorial debut, and DeVito stars as Pine’s character’s father-like figure and friend, Jack. To portray the role to the best of his ability, DeVito reminded himself of the process he had gone through when he first started to make films.
WATCH: Danny DeVito shares how he prepared for ‘Poolman’
Video“As you go along, every time you make a movie, you learn,” DeVito told Fox News Digital. “I think that’s where Jack is in this movie, and thank goodness for Annette Bening, because she’s so loving and cares about Jack. I have such a good family experience.”
“No matter how many times you knock Jack down, Jack’s going to get up with something else. Same thing with Chris [Pine]. He’s got it,” DeVito added.
DeVito also recently took the stage at the State Theatre in New Jersey to narrate the iconic “Matilda” live in concert. “This is big man,” Danny said of his performance. “I’m all in the movie as Mr. Wormwood – hence the mustache – but I also narrate the movie.”
The 1996 film highlighted Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) who has the gift of telekinesis. DeVito starred as Matilda’s father, Harry Wormwood, and Rhea appeared as Matilda’s mother, Zinnia Wormwood. The film was adapted into a musical in 2022.
DeVito has “a million fond memories” of his time directing and starring in “Matilda,” but one that sticks out is hand-picking Mara to play the film’s lead.
Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito tied the knot in 1982. They were pictured here in 1986. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“I saw Mara the first time in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’ She was a peanut. She was little,” he said. “It was just the greatest, because when she walked in the door, I knew she was Matilda.”
DeVito continued, “All those memories of putting it all together and then shooting it with all those kids, it was just magnificent. My son was 8 or 9 at the time, so my daughters were 10 and 12, and they would come to the set and visit and hang out with the kids, and it was really just off the charts.”
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The acclaimed actor is still trying to “get it right” when it comes to mastering the feeling of staying grounded.
When it comes to staying grounded, DeVito is still trying to “get it right.” (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
“I’m always working on it – which I love,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think that there are a lot of people out there, artists, actors, directors, business people, whatever it is. Scientists are always looking, always in the bushes, trying to find what’s around the corner.”
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DeVito continued, “So it’s curiosity and enthusiasm. I love getting up and going to work.”
Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
