Rob McElhenney Posts An ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Blooper Reel That Shows How Michael Naughton Is the Most Underrated Actor on the Series

The Waiter from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia might just be the most underappreciated comic actor on television — even a die-hard Always Sunny fan will claim that they’ve never seen that man in their life.

An oft-overlooked factor in the winning formula that makes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia a record-breakingly successful sitcom is that series stars and co-producers Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day are unmatched in their ability to find the perfect actors to fill the show’s many supporting roles. Not every actor can handle the chaotic, improvisational chemistry of the average It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia scene, and quick-thinking, creative performers tend to fare better on the series than the robots who can only ever stick to the script. As such, it’s only fitting that the all-time greatest It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia bit-part performer is a seasoned improvisational comedian who is so flexible and dynamic that he’s able to play two completely different characters.

When casting the classic Season Four episode “Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack,” McElhenney, Day and Howerton tapped Michael Naughton, a veteran of the legendary Los Angeles improv and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, to play Mac and Charlie’s temporary boss at their shared mail room gig. In the final cut of the episode, the interview scene introducing Naughton to the Always Sunny universe is disappointingly brief. But judging by the blooper reel posted by McElhenney on Instagram on Tuesday, shooting the interview must have taken all day.

While most of Naughton’s incredible work in “Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack” didn’t make it to airtime, his comedic chops impressed his bosses and co-stars enough that, four seasons later, they invited him back to the show to play a new role: a put-upon server at an upscale restaurant whom The Gang consistently terrorizes without ever learning his name or remembering his face. Fifteen years after “Sweet Dee Has A Heart Attack” first aired, McElhenney, Day and Howerton invited Naughton onto The Always Sunny Podcast to discuss his whole body of work on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and they revealed the above blooper reel from his first appearance. 

Contrary to what some fans believed about the bloopers, Naughton admitted that he didn’t actually improvise the highlights of Charlie and Mac’s resume, even though the content of the application was new to Day and McElhenney. However, Naughton never received any direction to actually read the duo’s work history, making the inspired choice to deliver the hilarious lines deadpan to his scene partners and ruin their poker faces in the process. 

As McElhenney, Day and Howerton pointed out on the podcast, the core cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia doesn’t contain a single “straight man,” so Naughton’s ability to be the only normal person in a room full of maniacs stands out among the many eccentric side characters in Always Sunny history. Naughton’s composure and his impeccable comedic timing managed to make his first scene in Always Sunny the first time in the show’s history that the stars and producers couldn’t get through a single take without a guest actor causing them to break character.

Naughton was able to turn a tiny part into a long-term gig, as his later character The Waiter has played a central role in six different Always Sunny episodes and counting. Hopefully that paycheck will become even more steady, and Always Sunny will utilize The Waiter even more in the upcoming Season 17 — blue food doesn’t pay for itself.