Movies - TV
Rob McElhenny Wanted
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's Whole Cast To Gain Weight
By MARCOS MELENDEZ
Unlike most shows, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” is at its best when its characters are at their worst, and the show has always made an effort to subvert the expectations of traditional TV. In one of the show’s most drastic storylines, Rob McElhenney gained 60 pounds to transform his character, and originally, he wanted the rest of the cast to join him.
Kaitlin Olson, who plays Sweet Dee, recalled, “[McElhenney] wanted us all to try and gain as much weight as possible […] and he wanted Danny to get super skinny […] Charlie and Glen were like, ‘Ooo, I don’t really know if I want to do that.’ I had literally just had my second baby, and I was like, ‘Uh, I just gained 30 pounds so, no.’ So Rob was like, ‘Fine, I’ll do it myself.’”
While injecting comedy through weight gain is problematic, introducing “Fat Mac” was more about subverting audience expectations. As McElhenney explained, “Vanity is such a huge part of television, and if you watch any average sitcom, you notice that the actors get better-looking as the years go by [...] So I realized I needed to go in the extreme opposite direction.”