Glenn Franklin Howerton III (; born April 13, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing Dennis Reynolds on the FX/FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present), which he co-developed and serves as an executive producer and writer alongside the other main cast members.
Howerton's other notable performances include Cliff Gilbert on The Mindy Project (2012–2017), Don Chumph on the first season of Fargo (2014), Jack Griffin on A.P. Bio (2018–2021), and Jim Balsillie in the film BlackBerry (2023). He also co-hosted The Always Sunny Podcast (2021–2023) with his fellow It's Always Sunny co-stars and co-creators Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day.
Early life Howerton was born in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on April 13, 1976, the son of American parents Janice and Glenn Franklin Howerton Jr. He has an older sister named Courtney. His father was a fighter pilot in the United States Armed Forces, and the family frequently moved due to his military career. After Howerton's birth, his family returned to the U.S. to live in Arizona and then New Mexico. When he was three years old, they relocated to United Kingdom, where they lived in Felixstowe. Four years later, they again returned to the U.S. to live in Virginia. They then had a stint in South Korea, where they were based in Seoul. When he was 10 years old, they returned to the U.S. for a third time and settled in Montgomery, Alabama.
After graduating from Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Howerton moved to Miami, where he spent two years at the New World School of the Arts of Miami Dade College. In 1996, he entered Juilliard School's Drama Division in New York City, where he graduated with a BFA as part of Group 29 (1996–2000).
Career In 2002, Howerton starred as Corey Howard in That '80s Show. He went on to guest star on ER as Dr. Nick Cooper in 2003. He had small roles in the films Must Love Dogs (2005), Serenity (2005), Two Weeks (2006), and The Strangers (2008). He also appeared as a doctor in Crank (2006), and reprised the role in its 2009 sequel, Crank: High Voltage.
Howerton is best known for playing the narcissistic and sociopathic Dennis Reynolds on the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present). The series was co-created by Howerton alongside Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, who all serve as producers, writers, and main cast members alongside Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. As of season 14, he has also directed two episodes. In December 2021, It's Always Sunny became the longest-running live-action American comedy of all time with the release of its 15th season. The series is still ongoing as of April 2026, with its 18th season in the works.
In 2008, Howerton co-created sci-fi comedy Boldly Going Nowhere with Day, McElhenney, and writing assistant Adam Stein, but the pilot was permanently shelved. He has also had producing roles on various projects created by other It's Always Sunny colleagues, like David Hornsby, such as CBS sitcom How to Be a Gentleman, adult animated sitcom Unsupervised, and Fox sitcomThe Cool Kids. Howerton also did several voice roles, including a recurring part on The Cleveland Show as Ernie Krinklesac.
In 2013, he played the lead role in a film for the first time, landing the character of Will in the CollegeHumor comedy film Coffee Town with co-stars Steve Little and Ben Schwartz. Soon after, he landed recurring roles on the Fox comedy series The Mindy Project (2012–2017) as Cliff Gilbert, the divorce lawyer introduced in season two as one of Mindy's love interests, on the critically acclaimed first season of the FX dark comedy series Fargo (2014–present) as Don Chumph, and on the Showtime comedy-drama series House of Lies (2012–2016) starring Don Cheadle in its final season as the young mayoral candidate Seth Buckley. Howerton also played a small part as the gun-running Dominic in the Netflix Original film Officer Downe (2016) starring Kim Coates.
His next major television role came in 2018 on the NBC single-camera comedy created by Mike O'Brien, A.P. Bio (2018–2021), where he played Jack Griffin, an arrogant Harvard philosophy professor whose fall from grace forced him to get a job teaching biology to high school students in his hometown of Toledo, while plotting to exact revenge on his nemesis and restore his career. The show ran for two seasons on NBC before it was cancelled and then picked up by Peacock, NBC's streaming service, where it ran for another two seasons. In December 2021, it was cancelled for good.
In October 2022, it was announced that he would be voicing Fred Jones on the upcoming HBO Max animated series Velma.
Starting in November 2021, Day, McElhenney, and Howerton launched The Always Sunny Podcast, a weekly show loosely based on the rewatch format of podcasting, which had grown in popularity in recent years, to coincide with the release of the record-breaking 15th season of It's Always Sunny.
In June 2022, they released Four Walls Whiskey, with all proceeds from the 15-year single-malt Irish whiskey going toward supporting the Pennsylvania hospitality industry, which was badly hit by the pandemic.
In August 2022, it was announced that Howerton would be co-starring with Jay Baruchel in a Canadian biopic directed by Matt Johnson on the rise and fall of BlackBerry, portraying one of its co-founders. The film BlackBerry (2023) premiered in competition at Berlinale 2023 on February 17 to positive reviews from critics, with Howerton's performance as Jim Balsillie being especially well received.
In 2025, he played Ethan Corbin III on the Netflix dark comedy limited series Sirens. That same year, he also guest starred as his It's Always Sunny character, Dennis Reynolds, in the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary during a cross-over event.
Personal life Howerton dated actress Morena Baccarin while they were both attending Juilliard.
He married actress Jill Latiano on September 5, 2009, following an engagement that lasted for over a year. They have two sons together, the first born in 2011 and the second born in 2014.
Howerton was diagnosed with ADHD in 2023.
Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Must Love Dogs Michael Serenity Lilac Young Tough 2006 Crank Doctor Two Weeks Matthew Bergman 2008 The Strangers Mike Happy Wednesday Spencer Scott Short film 2009 Crank: High Voltage Doctor Uncredited 2010 Everything Must Go Gary 2013 Coffee Town Will2014 All the Wilderness Executive producer 2016 Officer Downe Dominic 2020 The Hunt Richard Archenemy The Manager 2021 How It Ends John 2022 The Send-Off Producer The Thief Collector Jerry 2023 BlackBerry Jim Balsillie Fool's Paradise Business Manager
Television Year Title Role Notes 2002 Monday Night Mayhem Dick Ebersol Television film The Job Young Guy Episode: "Gay" That '80s Show Corey Howard Main role (13 episodes) 2003 ER Dr. Nick Cooper Six episodes 2005–present It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Dennis Reynolds Wendell Albright Main roleAlso co-creator (uncredited), developer, executive producer, writer, and director2008Boldly Going NowhereLt. Zander CentauriGuest role (unaired pilot)Also co-creator, executive producer, and writer 2009 American Dad! Animal Control Guy #1 Voice; episode: "Weiner of Our Discontent" 2009–2010 Glenn Martin, DDS Various voices Three episodes 2009–2013 The Cleveland Show Ernie Krinklesac, various roles Voice; 30 episodes 2011 Vietnam in HD Donald DeVore Miniseries (five episodes)How to be a Gentleman Consulting producer (eight episodes) 2012 Unsupervised Clint / Dirt Voice; four episodesAlso executive producer and writer (13 episodes) 2013–2017 The Mindy Project Cliff Gilbert Recurring role in seasons two, three, and six (13 episodes) 2014–2015 Family Guy Various roles Voice; four episodes (uncredited in season 12, credited in season 13) 2014 Fargo Don Chumph Five episodes 2015 On the Record with Mick Rock Executive producer TripTank Congressman Rothbard Congressman Hume Congressman Adorno Episode: "Mr. Winchester Goes to Washington" 2016 House of Lies Seth Buckley Four episodes 2018 The Cool Kids Executive producer 2018–2021 A.P. Bio Jack Griffin Main role (42 episodes)Also co-executive producer, producer (season one) and director 2020 The Fugitive Jerry Main role (14 episodes) 2023–2024 Velma Fred Jones Voice; main role 2025 Abbott Elementary Dennis Reynolds Episode: "Volunteers" Crossover with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Sirens Ethan Corbin III Netflix limited series The Simpsons Peter Linz Voice; episode: "Bart 'N' Frink"
Web Year Title RoleNotes 2021–2023 The Always Sunny Podcast Himself/host 68 episodes
Music videos YearTitleArtistNotes2017"Rich Friends"Portugal. The Man
Theatre Year Title RoleNotes 2000 Compleat Female Stage Beauty Duke of Buckingham 2001 The Credeaux Canvas Jamie 2015 The Comedy of Errors Antipholus of Ephesus, Antipholus of Syracuse
Awards and nominations Year Award Ceremony Category Nominated work Result 2015 International Online Cinema Awards Best Writing for a Comedy Series (shared with Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 2019IGN Summer Movie Awards Best TV Ensemble (shared with Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito) 2023Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest Supporting ActorBlackBerry Gotham AwardsOutstanding Supporting Performance Hollywood Film Critics Association Midseason AwardsBest Supporting Actor Indiana Film Journalists AssociationBest Lead Performance Las Vegas Film Critics Society AwardsBest Supporting Actor North Texas Film Critics Association Toronto Film Critics Association AwardsOutstanding Supporting Performance Outstanding Performance in a Canadian Film UK Film Critics Association AwardsSupporting Actor of the Year 2024ASTRA AwardsGame Changer Award Best Supporting Actor Canadian Screen Awards, CAPerformance in a Supporting Role, Comedy Chicago Indie Critics AwardsBest Supporting Actor Columbus Film Critics AssociationBest Supporting Performance DiscussingFilm Critic AwardsBest Supporting Actor Georgia Film Critics Association Independent Spirit AwardsBest Supporting Performance Music City Film Critics' Association AwardsBest Supporting Actor Online Film & Television AssociationBest Breakthrough Performance: Male Vancouver Film Critics CircleBest Supporting Male Actor in a Canadian Film Canadian Screen AwardsBest Supporting Performance in a Comedy FilmConnie Thiessen, "Canadian Screen Awards winners: Cinematic Arts" . Broadcast Dialogue, May 30, 2024.
Notes
References
External links