Danny DeVito does not occupy much cubic footage. But the star has a fidgety energy that belies his frame and a New Joisey accent that parts crowds like a chainsaw.
Currently, DeVito is adding Willie Clark from Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys to his roster of irascible, embittered blowhards, a list which includes Matilda's Mr Wormwood and Louie in Taxi.
He's a ball of fury on screen but a genial, good-humoured presence during our meeting. Which one's Danny?
He says: "In terms of being bombastic and crazy - I love that kind of thing. I see something that I feel needs to be taken care of and I say it.
"I'm not trying to win friends and influence people. If something's on my mind - I can be wrong, I'm not saying I'm invincible - but if someone's doing something to somebody that I don't think is right you gotta speak up. You could keep quiet but that's not my MO."
One of the things he speaks up about is the environment. ("I'm a green leftie, I drive a Leaf, I am totally behind what we have to do to clean up the mess we're making.")
So if you had turn Danny DeVito into a cartoon character he would surely have to be Dr Seuss's feisty The Lorax.
Which is handy because that's the animated movie DeVito is promoting at the MCM Expo in Excel where we're speaking. It's out in July.
He said: "They brought a drawing then it was like 'imagine your voice coming out of that it would be like a trip'. I am wild in this movie.
"The Lorax is a ball of fury. If you take a tree, plant a tree. Don't change the environment to the point where you're worried about mudslides. It's the simple things."
A lot of his humour, I suggest, comes from a very dark place. He says: "I like the banana peel, I love the slapstick - Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Three Stooges.
"There is a thing about comedy that lends itself to..." He does a whoosh-splash mime with his hand... "so I just take that and apply it to things like War Of The Roses, the absurdity of two people fighting over objects and it turns into a funny story where I get to kill the people.
"I like that. I enjoy the fact I was mean to Matilda."
Ahh, Matilda. The Roald Dahl favourite. And now playing to rave reviews in the West End. He loves that movie. So does he fancy a night out at the Cambridge?
He says: "This is a classic story about how you fight to get the movie made, the studio beats you down and makes you feel like wasting money and then all of a sudden the movie comes out halfway decent, every single kid in the world owns the movie and they make a lot of money.
"But I have no desire to go and see the play. I don't feel like I want to go there and look at somebody else doing it. I would pick it apart and be like - 'what? You did that?'"
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE
It's early days, but Danny DeVito is excited about the prospect of reuniting with his "twin" Arnold Schwarzenegger for a sequel to the 1988 comedy.
He joked: "Once you have the dinner, its a done deal. I went out with Arnold, there were a couple of agents there and the studio because once the studio wants it they'll string up your first born to make it happen.
"Then we tried to figure out what it would be. Somebody had an idea that maybe we should do triplets and who better to play a part than Eddie Murphy? We don't have a story but that's the idea. I'm looking forward to it."
