The cast members of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia are not their characters. This is a good thing considering, if they were, Danny DeVito, Kaitlin Olson, and Glenn Howerton would likely be in maximum-security prison and Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney would be, at the very least, monitored constantly by mentally exhausted, deeply concerned social workers.
That said, a series of Instagram posts made by Howerton and McElhenney while filming the show’s upcoming 14th season make it clear that, even though neither men is the character they’re best known for, they’re pretty good at being assholes when sort of, kind of just being themselves on social media.
The clips, collected in an eight-minute video, start with McElhenney talking into the camera on set about how annoying it is for Howerton to be directing episodes from the new season. Howerton, mouth full of salad and a cat meowing in the background, says McElhenney isn’t the “same guy” and that he’s “over-extended himself” by being in another TV show. The responses continue, McElhenney saying that at least he kept showing up for It’s Always Sunny, unlike the “bully,” Howerton, who fires back alongside more disgustingly wet, salad-eating sounds.
In true It’s Always Sunny fashion, things continue to escalate. McElhenney details rude acting directions (like a command to “make your hair small”) and gets DeVito to describe Howerton as a bully. By the end, we’ve learned Howerton is a member of the “liberal Hollywood elite,” despite his attempts to clear his name on set, and McElhenney is showing off his “Stronger Than Bullying” T-shirt.
The compilation video is good, but it’s only one part of the actors’ ongoing, excellent approach to social media interactions.
For example, Howerton posts about gluten free beer…
… and McElhenney responds, “This is one of the most annoying posts ever on Instagram.”
If you’d rather not dwell on all of this aggression, perhaps head to Charlie Day’s Instagram instead. Things are a little gentler over there.
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