The It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Star Who Auditioned For Superman Returns

The summer of 2025 will mark the 20th anniversary of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." The series, which is centered on the infamous Gang that owns the failing Paddy's Pub, helped launch the careers of Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Kaitlin Olson. When the second season premiered, the series gained considerable notoriety with the addition of Hollywood legend Danny DeVito, whose mere presence on the series is inherently hilarious. The success of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has led the cast to pursue more exciting opportunities, with Charlie Day perhaps being the most notable of the team, thanks to his roles in high-profile studio films that include comedies such as "Horrible Bosses," action blockbusters like "Pacific Rim," and notable voice work in animated films including "Monsters University," "The LEGO Movie," and most recently, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," where he voiced Luigi.

While Charlie Day may be the series' most recognizable star beyond "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Glenn Howerton might be the series' most promising performer in terms of his sheer talent. A Juilliard alumnus, Howerton has used his role as the sociopathic Dennis Reynolds (although he disagrees with that interpretation of the character) as a showcase of not just his comedic sensibilities, but also his depths as a dramatic performer, which was refined during his time at the university's prolific Drama Division, where he graduated in 2000. Although the quirky situations depicted in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are played up for laughs, the series has moments for Howerton to flex the muscles that only the best-trained dramatic actors have.

Some of Glenn Howerton's earlier roles before "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" include television appearances such as "That '80s Show," where he played the lead character, as well as a guest star on "ER." He also had small roles in "Must Love Dogs" and "Serenity." As an up-and-coming actor in the 2000s, Howerton had the opportunity to audition for some major Hollywood productions, and there was one film in particular that, had he won the part, perhaps his career would be in a different place today.

Roughly around the same time that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was in the early stages of development, Glenn Howerton auditioned for one of the most in-demand projects in Hollywood at the time. Bryan Singer, who was coming off the one-two punch success of "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," was tapped to direct "Superman Returns," a film that was to be an homage sequel to "Superman: The Movie" and "Superman II." Howerton reflected on auditioning for Singer's film in an interview with The Lamplight Review in 2013, where he also discussed the possibility of playing roles such as The Riddler in a "Batman" movie:

"Not really. Let's see, I think 10 years ago, I auditioned for the 'Superman' reboot, and that was about like two years before that actually came out, the one with Brandon Routh. But, that was before 'Sunny.' And then, I did audition recently for the 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' to play the role (Star-Lord) that Chris Pratt is playing. I know that the director (James Gunn) of that movie, supposedly, is a big Sunny fan, which is cool. But, usually, they're already looking for some giant movie star to play those roles.

I certainly don't have anything against doing something like that. I have to admit, I really do enjoy playing bad guys, and extremely evil people, which is why it's a lot of fun for me to play Dennis, or at least the challenge is making Dennis, you know, likable even though he's such a despicable person. I think playing something like The Riddler would definitely feel like it was in my wheelhouse."

Years ago, James Gunn revealed that had he not cast Chris Pratt in the role of Peter Quill/Star-Lord in "Guardians of the Galaxy," Glenn Howerton would have gotten the part. Since then, Howerton has been a common fan-casting for numerous roles in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe. To be quite honest, he was my first choice to play Reed Richards in the MCU's upcoming, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which is directed by Matt Shakman, who has directed many episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." While Pedro Pascal looks to be nailing the part, I still lament Marvel Studios passing up on Howerton's talents once again.

As things seem to be these days, all roads lead back to "Superman" somehow — especially with James Gunn's highly anticipated film hitting theaters in July. Not only was Glenn Howerton the runner-up to play Star-Lord, but he also shares a notable link to the new Clark Kent, David Corenswet. As it turns out, Corenswet is also a Juilliard alumnus, having graduated in 2016. Perhaps most serendipitous in all these links back to the Man of Steel is that Christopher Reeve also studied at Juilliard, signifying that perhaps when it comes to playing the dichotomy between Clark Kent and Superman, the most well-trained performers are necessary to accurately portray that they are two different entities despite sharing the same body.

One of Glenn Howerton's most recent films was "BlackBerry," which was directed by Matt Johnson (you can read Slashfilm's review here). Based on the rise and fall of the BlackBerry line of mobile phones, Howerton played the volatile investor Jim Balsillie. Howerton's performance was widely acclaimed, earning him some notable awards buzz. His performance as a bald, angry multi-millionaire also led to some fans clamoring for him to play Lex Luthor in James Gunn's "Superman." Although that role ended up going to Nicholas Hoult, perhaps Gunn can still find a place for Howerton in his new DCU.