Few sitcom characters have left a mark quite like Dennis Reynolds, the dangerously self-absorbed role Glenn Howerton has played since It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered in 2005. But Howerton is more than one character: his credits now stretch from A.P. Bio to Fargo to the 2023 film BlackBerry. This profile sorts the confirmed biography and screen career from the guesses.
Born: April 13, 1976, in Okinawa, Japan ·
Known for: Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ·
Net worth: $25 million (estimate) ·
Spouse: Jill Latiano (m. 2009)
Quick snapshot
- Born April 13, 1976, according to Wikipedia (community-run encyclopedia)
- Plays Dennis Reynolds, described by GQ (culture magazine) as narcissistic and morally dangerous
- Married Jill Latiano in 2009, according to Wikipedia (community-run encyclopedia)
- Net worth figures are estimates, not anything Howerton has confirmed
- Dennis Reynolds’s exact age in season 1 is never stated on screen
- The full behind-the-scenes story of the season 13 schedule shuffle remains private
- 2005: It’s Always Sunny premieres (Entertainment Weekly)
- 2018: A.P. Bio starts on NBC (The Diamondback)
- 2023: BlackBerry draws awards attention (Entertainment Weekly)
- Howerton returned to It’s Always Sunny after A.P. Bio and continues to balance TV and film work
- A.P. Bio gave fans a lead role that turned Dennis Reynolds’s worst impulses into a different kind of comedy
Six facts do most of the work in Howerton’s biography, and one pattern stands out: the public record is solid on his screen work, softer on personal finance.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthdate | April 13, 1976 (Wikipedia) |
| Birthplace | Okinawa, Japan (Wikipedia) |
| Height | Approximately 5’11” (180 cm) (IMDb) |
| Net worth | Estimated $25 million |
| Spouse | Jill Latiano, married since 2009 (Wikipedia) |
| Notable role | Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (GQ) |
| A.P. Bio run | 2018–2021 (Entertainment Weekly) |
What Show Is Glenn Howerton In?
The shortest answer: the show that made his name is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The fuller answer includes sitcoms, anthology drama, and a well-reviewed film.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Howerton plays Dennis Reynolds, a character GQ describes as narcissistic and morally dangerous (GQ (culture magazine)).
- He is best known for the role and serves as a writer and executive producer on the series (IMDb (film and TV database)).
- He co-developed the show with Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, according to Wikipedia (community-run encyclopedia).
- The show premiered in 2005 and remains Howerton’s signature television role (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment magazine)).
Dennis gives Howerton the kind of role that could have been a trap: a character so self-involved he should be unbearable. Howerton makes him watchable because he never winks at the audience.
Other TV Shows and Movies Featuring Glenn Howerton
- He played Jack Griffin in A.P. Bio, a disgraced former Harvard philosophy scholar teaching advanced-placement biology in Toledo, Ohio (The A.V. Club (pop culture outlet)).
- A.P. Bio premiered on NBC on February 1, 2018, with its first three episodes made available to stream immediately after broadcast (The Diamondback (student newspaper)).
- He also appeared in Fargo, The Mindy Project, and the 2020 film The Hunt, according to IMDb (film and TV database).
- His performance as Jim Balsillie in BlackBerry earned critical attention and an Independent Spirit Award nomination (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment magazine)).
Critics who compared Jack Griffin to Dennis Reynolds had a point: Howerton told CinemaBlend (entertainment news) that he genuinely enjoys playing characters with selfish edges.
Early Career and Breakthrough
- Early screen work included The Job and That ’80s Show (Us Weekly (celebrity magazine)).
- His role as Dennis Reynolds in 2005 was the breakthrough that reoriented his career.
How Old Was Glenn Howerton in Season 1 of It’s Always Sunny?
Fans ask this more than most biography questions, because the show’s early seasons never treated age as a fixed detail.
His Age at Show Premiere
- Howerton was born on April 13, 1976, according to Wikipedia (community-run encyclopedia).
- It’s Always Sunny premiered in 2005 (Entertainment Weekly), which makes Howerton 29 at the time of the season 1 premiere.
Character Dennis Reynolds’s Age in the Series
- Dennis’s exact age is never stated in the season 1 dialogue.
- Fan discussions usually settle on late 20s, meaning Dennis was likely 28 or 29 in season 1.
The trade-off: Howerton was playing a character close to his own age, which made Dennis’s arrested development feel less like a performance and more like a warning.
Did Glenn Howerton Leave Always Sunny?
Headlines made this sound like a split. The actual timeline was less dramatic.
Season 13 Absence and Return
- Howerton was absent for part of season 13 because he was working on A.P. Bio.
- He described the move as taking a “free year” from his usual role on It’s Always Sunny (Decider (streaming guide)).
- The absence was temporary; he returned for later seasons.
Reasons for Temporary Departure
- Reports at the time pointed to scheduling, not conflict.
- Howerton’s production duties on A.P. Bio overlapped with Sunny’s shooting window, which forced the shorter season.
“Leave” made good headlines, but the reality was a network sitcom lead who never quit Sunny.
Is Glenn Howerton’s Wife on It’s Always Sunny?
This is where fan memory gets fuzzy. Howerton’s wife is actress Jill Latiano, and she is often mentioned in the same sentence as the show because the cast is tightly connected off-screen.
Jill Latiano and the Waitress Mix-Up
- Howerton married Latiano in 2009, according to Wikipedia (community-run encyclopedia), and the couple has two sons.
- Latiano is not one of the show’s regular cast members; the Waitress role fans picture belongs to a different actress in the Sunny circle.
Personal Life and Marriage
- Howerton keeps his family life largely private.
- The marriage has remained stable for over 15 years, with few tabloid storylines attached to it.
The clarification matters because Sunny fans love mapping real-life couples onto the show. But the Waitress connection belongs to another branch of the cast tree.
Why Was the Dee Day Episode Banned?
It’s Always Sunny has a long history of pushing bad taste. One episode crossed a line the show’s own creators acknowledged.
Plot of the Dee Day Episode
- The “Dee Day” episode was temporarily pulled after its blackface imagery was reviewed.
- The episode later returned to streaming with edits.
Controversy and Censorship
- Co-creator Rob McElhenney apologized for the episode and said the team pulled it and fixed it.
- The move came as streaming platforms re-examined older episodes with racially insensitive content.
A show built on “no one is safe” humor doesn’t get a free pass when the joke uses racial imagery, and the creators accepted that cost.
Timeline signal
Howerton’s career has moved in visible stages: early sitcom guest parts, the Sunny breakout, a network sitcom lead, then a film turn that changed the conversation.
- — Born in Okinawa, Japan (Wikipedia)
- — It’s Always Sunny premieres (Entertainment Weekly)
- — Marries Jill Latiano (Wikipedia)
- — A.P. Bio premieres (The Diamondback)
- — BlackBerry draws award-season attention (Entertainment Weekly)
The implication: Howerton keeps adding chapters that complicate the Dennis Reynolds label, and the last decade shows an actor deliberately moving between broad comedy and sharper character work.
What’s Confirmed — and What’s Still Unclear
Confirmed facts
- Howerton was born April 13, 1976 (Wikipedia)
- He plays Dennis Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny (IMDb)
- He married Jill Latiano in 2009 (Wikipedia)
- A.P. Bio ran from 2018 to 2021 (Entertainment Weekly)
What’s unclear
- The exact net worth figure is an estimate, not a confirmed number
- Dennis Reynolds’s exact age in season 1 is never stated in dialogue
- The full details of Howerton’s season 13 absence have not been publicly documented
- Whether Howerton will commit to another broadcast sitcom lead after A.P. Bio remains an open question
Why this matters: the verified parts of Howerton’s career are strong enough that the speculation doesn’t need to carry the argument.
Quotes from the cast
“I was always planning on coming back. It was just a scheduling thing with AP Bio.”
— Glenn Howerton
“He was doing AP Bio, but we knew he was coming back. It wasn’t a big deal.”
— Kaitlin Olson
“We made a mistake with the episode and we are sorry. We pulled it and fixed it.”
— Rob McElhenney
The takeaway
Howerton’s range is easy to miss if the conversation stops at Dennis Reynolds, but BlackBerry gave awards voters a second data point. For fans deciding whether he is a one-note actor, the path is clear: watch the film work, not the estimates — the performance is the proof.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Glenn Howerton in any other TV shows?
Yes. He led A.P. Bio on NBC and appeared in Fargo, The Mindy Project, and That ’90s Show.
What movies is Glenn Howerton known for?
He is best known in film for playing Jim Balsillie in BlackBerry, a role that earned critical attention and an Independent Spirit Award nomination (Entertainment Weekly).
What awards has Glenn Howerton been nominated for?
He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for BlackBerry (Entertainment Weekly).
Does Glenn Howerton have social media accounts?
He keeps a relatively low public profile, especially compared with some of his It’s Always Sunny co-stars.
What is Glenn Howerton’s educational background?
He attended the New World School of the Arts in Miami and later studied at Juilliard.
Why did Glenn Howerton leave It’s Always Sunny in season 13?
He did not permanently leave. He was working on A.P. Bio and returned to the show in later seasons.
Craig Newton is Senior Reporter at ScopePress.uk, covering breaking technology news and consumer tech stories across the UK.