People Keep Confusing 'It's Always Sunny's' 'Mac' For Ryan Reynolds's Pal and Mark Wahlberg
Ahh, Rob McElhenney -- star, co-writer, producer, and director of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, newly-minted co-owner of Wales' Wrexham Association Football Club, and a notable one-time Game of Thrones background actor. Despite his long, star-studded resume, two accolades seem to outshine the rest in defining McElhenney's decade-spanning career and even his iconic portrayal of Philadelphia's own Ronald "Mac" McDonald -- existing as Ryan Reynold's friend and a Marky-mark lookalike.
Over the weekend, the actor took to Instagram to share two unfortunate cases of bizarre identification, first citing a recent article detailing his decision to purchase Wrexham A.F.C. alongside friend and notable actor, Ryan Reynolds. In early February, the pair made headlines after buying the soccer team, reportedly shelling out a "nominal sum" on top of an immediate $2.5 million investment for control over the football club, Deadline reported.
In covering the purchase, which has been widely dubbed as a "surprise" or even a "bizarre coup," by the aforementioned entertainment news site, Canadian publication Vancouver is Awesome seems to have been very pressed for headline space in covering the purchase -- at least according to screenshots featured on McElhenney's Instagram story -- referring to the celeb as merely Reynold's pal.
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"Ryan Reynolds and friend buy soccer club," the headline reads, alongside a photo of the two actors posted on the soccer team's official Twitter page. Although first posted on February 9 and likely appearing in the outlet's print version on February 18, the actor seems to have only recently grown privy to his media appearance, sharing three photos of the article in question ...
... slowly zooming in ...
... on the word friend.
Ouch. Slow Instagram zooms can speak 1,000 words. While it should be noted that their digital version refers to the actor in all of his Sunny glory, bearing the title of "Vancouver's favourite son Ryan Reynolds just bought a Welsh soccer team with one of the stars of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,'" the story's alternate, questionable title still lives on digital publication platform, Issu. On February 17, an account entitled @vancouveisawesome, which has uploaded what appears to be weekly editions of the Canadian paper for nearly a year, posted the following day's edition, titular snafu and all.
Yet as many of us long-time Sunny fans know, McElhenney is so much more than just Ryan Reynold's friend -- he's also a Mark Wahlberg lookalike. Just days following his awkward introduction in the Canadian press, the star had another awkward case of mistaken identity as Boston icon, Marky Mark, proving we really need to brush up on our Northeastern geography. "I was sitting at an outdoor restaurant today. Someone walking by stopped and said 'The Fighter is a great movie,'" McElhenney recounted on Instagram this weekend. "I said ... 'Yes I agree.' He said 'You were great in it.' I said 'I'm not in that movie.' He laughed and kept walking," he continued.
However, it seems he took this false, albeit flattering comparison in jest. "Now I'm not complaining about getting mistaken for @markwahlberg but ... I feel like I need to pick a lane. Am I 'Ryan's Friend' or Mark Wahlberg?" He mused. "Both are great. It's a conundrum."
So folks, although he may be Ryan Reynold's friend and to some passerby, a dead ringer for Mark Wahlberg, Rob McElhenney is so much more than his friendships and doppelgangers -- he's our favorite Paddy's Pub co-owner. I'll drink (some fight milk) to that.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
