Minions of the Golden God Squash Sacrilegious Narrative That Glenn Howerton Has the Least Range of the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Cast
Savages, idiots and jerk-offs will say that Glenn Howerton’s acting talents peak with one-note performances, but true believers in the Golden God know that he hasn’t even begun to peak.
As non-idiotic, non-jerk-off It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans always love to bring up, the actor who plays the divine Dennis Reynolds on the longest running live-action sitcom in American history is a much more well-rounded performer and person than the actual characters on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Before Howerton helped his friend and roommate Rob McElhenney out by appearing in a shoestring budget pilot (one that Howerton himself funded), Howerton graduated from the competitive and prestigious Juilliard School, he became fluent in Mandarin, Korean, French and Spanish and he starred in the most ill-conceived sequel sitcom in Fox history, the oft-mocked That ‘80s Show.
Ever since Always Sunny propelled its stars, co-writers and co-producers to superstardom, Howerton, McElhenney, Charlie Day and Kaitlin Olson have all been free to explore their interests outside the show. However, some haters recently started a storm of fists (and replies) by suggesting that, not only should the government ban Olson from putting out a “nonstop stream of network TV slop," but that Howerton’s range is limited to ”a certain type of character.”
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If they mean to say that Howerton is only capable of playing beings of immense power, supreme intelligence and perfect physical proportions, well, nobody’s perfect — except Dennis.
Now, to be fair to the hater of Howerton and Olson who invoked the boundless rage of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fandom, they may believe that Howerton has limited range because the entertainment industry keeps trying to typecast him into Dennis-like roles. Howerton himself has admitted that he’d like to branch out and do projects in which he could "play a character that’s not so intense all the time,” but there’s no denying that the divine rage he can channel is compelling.
In the 2023 corporate dramedy BlackBerry, Howerton portrayed real-life tech mogul and failed NHL team owner Jim Balsillie, and the multifaceted actor brought some of his signature “intensity” to the role while still humanizing the disgraced ex-BlackBerry CEO to a degree that would be beneath the Golden God.
Similarly, Howerton’s character in the unjustifiably canceled sitcom A.P. Bio is another egotistical manipulator, but, as opposed to Dennis Reynolds, Dr. Jack Griffin is capable of occasionally feeling remorse for his conniving actions, and he’s never once had to explain why he doesn’t skin human beings and turn them into lampshades (the smell).
But, honestly, even on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Howerton has had ample opportunity to flex his famous Juilliard acting muscles and deliver performances we never expected from the character of Dennis, and his range is one of the most important contributing factors in the show’s ability to maintain a high level of comedy so many seasons into its historic run.
Just don’t ask Howerton to do a British accent when he’s not inside his own head — if you catch my meaning.
