The Waiter from ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ on What It’s Like to Always Be Served Up the Gang’s Shit

It goes without saying that no member of The Gang on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is even remotely “normal.” All five of them are selfish, horrible people — never more so than when they’re paired up with a much more regular “straight man,” making them seem even worse than usual.

One of the recurring straight men in their life is The Waiter, who has been tortured by the Gang several times over the course of a total of six episodes, like when they caused him to fall into a plate of spaghetti by tying his shoelaces together. Despite all of this, though, the Gang still somehow never seems to remember who he is. 

Sunny fans, however, remember The Waiter very well, which is why I recently caught up with Michael Naughton, the man who serves him up on-screen, to chat about the misery that is having to deal with The Gang.

Your first appearance on Sunny wasn’t as a waiter, but as the boss who hires Charlie and Mac for an office job. Is it the same character?

When I was the waiter the first time, I kept thinking, “They’re going to realize that they already used me for the office worker.” So I was like, “Hey, do you guys remember that I did that spot a couple of years ago?” and they were like, “Of course! We love you! We thought you were funny and wanted to bring you back.” I said, “Is it the same guy?” And they were like, “Who knows?” 

You would have thought that they had thought about it, but they didn’t think it mattered. They said, “We’ll let the fans think about it.” My dream is that they write a script that connects the original office worker with The Waiter. I want that all to come together in some way.

Your first scene, when you were the office worker, is one of the most beloved outtakes from the show. That must be part of the reason why they brought you back.

That outtake started making the rounds a couple of years after I did it, so maybe that explains why I first appeared in Season Four, but not as The Waiter until Season Eight. I talked with Rob, Glenn and Charlie about this on the (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) podcast, but I didn’t really think they were laughing at what I was doing. Because I had this resume that had some stuff on it and I thought they wrote the resume, so I didn’t know if they were laughing at what I was saying or the information on the resume. The scene was improvised, but I was still pulling pieces of ridiculous information off the resume. 

I only found out on the podcast that they didn’t write the resume. They say that it was my delivery, but I don’t know. 

I think you’re selling yourself short. The best episodes of Sunny are when these five ridiculous characters have a straight man to play off of, which you did perfectly.

It’s funny, because of Sunny, people see me as a straight man, which is strange because I do sketch comedy and I’m usually the goofy guy. I feel like most shows have a straight man within the main cast. Like with Seinfeld, Jerry is the straight man. But with Sunny, all the main characters are insane. How they pull it off, I don’t know. It’s fun to take that role, though, and just enjoy their insanity. Plus, I love trying not to break. 

What was it like to fall into that plate of spaghetti?

I like being physical, so I asked them if I could do that myself. I did do one take, but in the episode, I think they used a shot of the stuntman who did it. 

It’s funny, my kids are too young to watch Sunny, but I tried to show them a little bit of what I did on the show. They didn’t like it, though. They were like, “They’re so mean to you!” They didn’t like that The Gang tied my shoelaces together or that I fell into the spaghetti. They were almost crying.

How about when Danny DeVito moves in with you after you save his life in “The Gang Chokes”?

I was pretty surprised when I got that script. I was like, “I’m the B storyline?” When I go in to do an episode, the guys greet me in the morning and say, “Thank you for coming back.” With DeVito, I feel like he’s been doing this so long that he just comes out of his trailer and is ready for the scene. I didn’t talk to him too much, but it was very exciting to work with him.

Why do you think The Waiter saved Frank from choking?

I think it was just instinct. Anybody in the world would do it except those four. But it’s not why The Waiter did it, it’s why didn’t The Gang save him?

God, their looks are so funny in that episode. They look at him for so long while he’s choking and they do nothing. 

I also think Frank hasn’t treated the waiter as badly as the rest of them. Glenn, Charlie, Dee and Rob all abuse me way more. They’re definitely more aggressive.

Which of those four do you think treats The Waiter the worst?

Dee. She was immediately abusive. She has no memory of me, so she has no reason to be angry with me.

Why do you think the gang never remembers who The Waiter is?

I think it’s just because they’re so self-centered. I also think that maybe there’s part of them that does remember me, but they just want to be assholes. 

Last question: Will the waiter ever finish pilot school?

No. He’s been too emotionally damaged by The Gang.