His many famous characters — a gruff New York City taxi dispatcher, a nemesis of Batman, a twisted father from Philadelphia — don’t explicitly exude a quintessential New Jersey attitude. But Danny DeVito claims there’s “a bit of Jersey” in all of his roles.

“You can even find Jersey in Oswald Cobblepot,” he said, referring to the villain who becomes the Penguin in “Batman Returns.” He casually peppered in a profanity connoting a sudden realization: “Oswald is down the Shore!” Out of character, the actor, writer and director speaks with a thick, raspy New Jersey Italian accent, his language as salty as the air in Asbury Park. After a few minutes, or his second cup of coffee (whichever comes first), he quickly finds his state-groomed humor.