Danny Devito at UK premiere of The Lorax in Birmingham

Hollywood star Danny DeVito rubbed shoulders with delighted fans as he flew in for the premiere of his latest film.

DeVito arrived by helicopter from London's West End where he is starring in the The Sunshine Boys for the first British screening of The Lorax in Birmingham yesterday.

• Click on the image to the right for photos from the premiere

The pint-sized star, known for roles in Twins, Batman Returns and Matilda, delighted crowds by taking time out to sign autographs, posing for photographs and chatting to those gathered to meet him outside Cineworld, in Broad Street.

DeVito provided the voice for The Lorax – a computer-animated version of the Dr. Seuss children's book – in English, Russian, German, Spanish and Italian.

But he joked that he should have tried to voice the character with a Brummie accent, adding: "I didn't try it in Brummie but maybe that's next."

He added: "I'm very proud of The Lorax. It's very close to my heart as it's feisty and energetic and he knows what he wants and he fights for what he wants."

"I feel it's part of me – I really dig the character.

"It was a labour of love, I worked very hard on it, like everybody did."

"I'm really excited to be here. We've got a beautiful day here, and Birmingham's countryside looked gorgeous," he added. "Let's come over here and make some movies."

Members of the USA Olympic team also took a break from preparing for the games to stop by for the premiere yesterday.

The team are based in Birmingham and are training at the Alexander Stadium ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.

Jamaican athletes, who are also based in the second city, were unable to make the event. Other celebrities making their way down the special orange carpet were glamour model Danielle Lloyd and former Aston Villa footballer Emile Heskey.