Danny DeVito Details His Surprise Cameo In 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'

Danny DeVito in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

Danny DeVito said he was thrilled to get a call from longtime friend Tim Burton to film a secret cameo in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

DeVito played a role simply billed as “Janitor” in the blockbuster sequel to 1988’s supernatural comedy classic Beetlejuice. The role marks the fifth time the iconic actor has worked with the legendary director.

DeVito's first role in a Burton film came in 1992’s Batman Returns, where he played Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin opposite Michael Keaton’s Batman/Bruce Wayne.

ForbesHow Danny DeVito And Lucy DeVito Celebrate Family With ‘A Sudden Case Of Christmas’By Tim Lammers

After that, DeVito appeared in Burton’s 1996 sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! followed by the director’s 2003 fantastical drama Big Fish and his 2019 live-action version of Dumbo.

In a recent Zoom conversation alongside daughter, Lucy DeVito, for their new holiday comedy A Sudden Case of Christmas, Danny DeVito told me the production tried to keep the cameo secret for as long as they could.

Danny DeVito in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

The cat leaped out of the bag, though, when some sharp-eyed fans paused the film’s first trailer at the right second to see the actor’s blue visage.

Danny DeVito said he was contacted by Burton to do the cameo just as production was wrapping on A Sudden Case of Christmas, which recently made its debut on premium video on demand and DVD.

ForbesMichael Keaton: Tim Burton Kept ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Cameo Secret From HimBy Tim Lammers

“I was traveling after our movie and Tim reached out to me,” DeVito recalled. “I said, ‘Okay, you guys bring me to London, where he was shooting the movie. So, I went right from A Sudden Case of Christmas to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and I spent four days with him. I loved that part.”

Lucky for DeVito, he was able to reunite with Burton recently when the director received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a day before Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was released in theaters on September 6.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 03: (L-R) Danny DeVito, Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton attend Tim ... [+] Burton honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 03, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Warner Bros. via Getty Images)

The ceremony for Burton’s star—which was placed at 6600 Hollywood Boulevard in front of Hollywood Toys & Costume—was also attended by Keaton and his fellow Beetlejuice Beetlejuice castmates Winona Ryder and Monica Bellucci.

“It was great. I was really happy for Tim I loved being there and was going around with my little cell phone and taking pictures of him and Monica. Everybody was there,” DeVito enthused. “It was a really great celebration and our stars are not far from each other. I'm a little bit farther West on the same street. We're very proud to be part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Note: The next section includes a spoiler from Danny DeVito’s scene in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Danny DeVito’s Janitor is the first deceased person in the Afterlife to encounter Delores (Monica Bellucci), who has literally pieced herself back together to seek vengeance against her ex-husband Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).

Delores is a soul-sucker, a character who has the power to take the wind out of anybody she encounters. Sadly for DeVito, the Janitor is Delores’ first victim and after she sucks out his soul, the character’s entire body is deflated and looks like a windbag with no air in it.

Forbes‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ VFX And Stop-Motion Artists On Capturing Tone Of 1988 OriginalBy Tim Lammers

In a recent awards season interview timed with the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD, the film’s visual effects supervisor, Angus Bickerton, said creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlon achieved the scene through the use of practical special effects.

“It’s all the genius of Neal Scanlon and his team,” Bickerton explained in a recent Zoom conversation. “Basically, the soul-sucking idea was [to create] a concertina [shaped like a body] that would fold up and flatten into this sort of empty bag."

Bickerton noted how Scanlon worked with Tim Burton on the idea for the soul-sucking effect, which ends with the empty Janitor—as well as another one of Delores’ soul-sucking victims later on—falling flat onto the floor.

ForbesDanny Elfman On Release Of ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Score, Tim Burton And MoreBy Tim Lammers

“Tim had the idea that [the Janitor’s body would] compress in that way,” Bickerton noted. “It was all done through wires and pipes feeding into a prosthetic.”

To top off the soul-sucking scene, Bickerton added, Scanlan's crew added some “venting gas and steam” effects which were “real elements and not CGI.”

Regarding the deflated version of the Janitor, the acting great doesn’t know what happened to it after filming wrapped, but he wouldn’t mind adding the prop to his collection.

“I gotta get a hold of that,” DeVito said, smiling. “I've got a lot of Tim’s stuff that I've taken from his sets. We’ve done five movies and he also played a part in Hoffa, by the way,” DeVito noted.

Forbes‘Wednesday’ Creators Alfred Gough And Miles Millar On Tim Burton And Writing ‘Beetlejuice 2’By Tim Lammers

Hoffa, of course, was directed by DeVito, who also appeared in a supporting turn in the film opposite Jack Nicholson’s title character. Unlike DeVito has done for Burton’s films, though, Burton didn’t need to learn any lines for the Jimmy Hoffa biopic because he played a corpse in an open casket during a mass funeral scene.

You can see more of how the practical visual effects were achieved in the bonus featurettes in the new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray versions of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The featurettes are available in the digital ownership version of the film as well.

A Sudden Case of Christmas—starring Danny DeVito, Lucy DeVito—is available on digital streaming via previum video on demand and DVD.

ForbesPhotos: Pals Join Tim Burton As He Gets Star On Hollywood Walk Of FameBy Tim Lammers