Every comedy fan knows a friend who insists Dennis Reynolds is the most quotable character on television — and one name keeps coming up behind that claim: Glenn Howerton. From Juilliard’s drama program to the writer’s room of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, his career has taken a few surprising turns, including an ER guest spot, an NBC sitcom detour, and a Marvel audition that came close.
Born: April 13, 1976 · Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) · Reported net worth: $25 million · Known for: Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Quick snapshot
- Co-created It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day (Apple TV biography)
- Graduated from Juilliard with a BFA in the Actor Training Program (Apple TV biography)
- Plays Dennis Reynolds and serves as a writer and executive producer on the series (Wikipedia biography)
- A reported $25 million net worth is a celebrity-wealth estimate, not a verified figure (CelebrityNetWorth)
- The exact schedule behind his season 13 absence was never fully itemized publicly (Wikipedia biography)
- How Howerton contracted COVID-19 was shared in podcast conversation, not a formal statement
- Born April 13, 1976, in Okinawa, Japan (Wikipedia biography)
- Graduated from Juilliard’s Actor Training Program with a BFA (Apple TV biography)
- Auditioned for the role of Star Lord in 2013 (Wikipedia biography)
- Returned for It’s Always Sunny season 16 in 2023 (Wikipedia biography)
- Remains active as a writer and producer on the show (Wikipedia biography)
- AP Bio wrapped in 2021, freeing his calendar for Always Sunny production (Apple TV biography)
Seven rows of biography, one pattern: the credits that made Howerton famous are the same ones that keep him busy.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Glenn Franklin Howerton III (Wikipedia biography) |
| Date of birth | April 13, 1976 (Wikipedia biography) |
| Place of birth | Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (Wikipedia biography) |
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) (Wikipedia biography) |
| Known for | Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Wikipedia biography) |
| Reported net worth | $25 million (CelebrityNetWorth) |
| Education | BFA, Juilliard Actor Training Program (Apple TV biography) |
Who created Always Sunny?
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was co-created by Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day (Apple TV biography), and Howerton’s fingerprints are all over it: he plays Dennis Reynolds and has written and executive-produced the series across its run (Wikipedia biography).
What is Glenn Howerton’s role in the show?
- Cast: Dennis Reynolds, one of the show’s five core characters (Wikipedia biography)
- Writer’s room: writer and executive producer since the early seasons (Wikipedia biography)
- Creative leadership: developed the series with McElhenney and Day (Apple TV biography)
How many seasons has the show aired?
- Premiered in 2005 on FX, with Howerton in the original cast (Wikipedia biography)
- 16 seasons had aired by 2023 (Wikipedia biography)
- Across every season, Dennis remains the role most identified with Howerton (Wikipedia biography)
Dennis Reynolds is a walking red flag, and fans sometimes assume the actor shares his traits. Howerton pushed back on that reading, telling The Boston Phoenix the characters are distinct from the cast members’ real personalities (The Boston Phoenix interview).
The implication: Howerton didn’t inherit Dennis — he helped invent him. That ownership is why a half-season gap reads as a much bigger story than a scheduling note.
Why isn’t Glenn Howerton in season 13?
During the show’s 13th season in 2018, Howerton was absent from the first half of the episode order. The cause was a production overlap with AP Bio, the NBC sitcom he starred in and executive-produced (Apple TV biography). The timing forced the early episodes to go on without Dennis (Wikipedia biography).
Did Glenn Howerton leave It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
- No. He returned in season 14 and stayed on as a writer and executive producer (Wikipedia biography)
- No formal departure was announced, and his co-creator credit never changed (Wikipedia biography)
- The original trio — McElhenney, Day, and Howerton — remained the show’s creative center through the seasons that followed
Did scheduling conflicts cause his absence?
- AP Bio and Always Sunny were in production at the same time, which left no room for Howerton in the early season 13 episodes (Wikipedia biography)
- He reappeared in the back half of the season once filming schedules untangled (Wikipedia biography)
- Actors who lead two series at once routinely miss episodes; the pattern is scheduling, not exits
A calendar conflict became internet-era lore about a departure. Howerton’s name stayed in the credits — actor, writer, and executive producer — in the seasons that followed (Wikipedia biography).
The pattern: the show’s longevity rests on its original trio. When one of them is pulled away by another production, the fan base reads it as a fracture, even when the credits say otherwise.
The implication: the on-screen absence was temporary, but the credits kept carrying the same name.
Is Glenn Howerton Juilliard trained?
Yes — Howerton is Juilliard trained. He graduated from the school’s Drama Division with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Actor Training Program (Apple TV biography), a credential rare in a TV comedy world built mostly on improv and sketch work. Juilliard’s Drama Division is one of the most selective actor-training programs in the U.S., and it shows in how he talks about craft.
Where did Glenn Howerton study?
- New World School of the Arts in Miami, where he spent two years before Juilliard (Wikipedia biography)
- Juilliard Drama Division, which he entered in 1996 (Wikipedia biography)
- French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts in Hancock, New York, where he taught drama during summer breaks (Apple TV biography)
What degree did he earn?
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Actor Training Program, Juilliard (Apple TV biography)
- Part of Juilliard Drama Division Group 29, tied to the 1996–2000 period (Wikipedia biography)
Conservatory training gave Howerton a precision most sitcom actors don’t have, and it shows in Dennis’s controlled menace. But the same résumé made him credible for broadcast projects like AP Bio — the commitment that created his season 13 gap.
What this means: the Juilliard years explain the range. The training that prepares actors for Shakespeare became the engine for one of the most precisely unhinged performances on television.
Was Glenn Howerton almost Star Lord?
Howerton auditioned for the role of Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the part went to Chris Pratt (Wikipedia biography). In 2013, that made him part of a famously wide Marvel casting search — and a reminder that TV comedy actors had become real contenders for franchise leads.
Why didn’t Glenn Howerton get the role?
- Director James Gunn chose Chris Pratt for the lead (Wikipedia biography)
- Pratt carried the Guardians franchise through multiple films
- Howerton returned to comedy and kept building Always Sunny
How close did he come to being Star Lord?
- Howerton has discussed the audition in interviews since then (Wikipedia biography)
- Marvel never published a formal shortlist, so the internal distance is known only to the room
- The near-miss became a footnote to the Guardians franchise, not a turning point in Howerton’s career
The pattern: Howerton keeps surfacing in casting conversations for big roles and then returning to the show he co-owns. The Star Lord story is less about a lost part than about the range he was already showing.
The pattern: a lost Marvel role reads as a footnote when the actor already owns the series that made him famous.
What is Glenn Howerton’s illness?
The illness search around Howerton does not point to a documented chronic condition. The health event tied to his name is COVID-19, which he reportedly contracted during the pandemic and later discussed in a podcast appearance.
Does Glenn Howerton have a long-term health condition?
- No credible reporting describes a chronic diagnosis
- The search pattern appears to trace back to his COVID-19 case, not a verified medical record
- Howerton has kept working steadily in acting, writing, and producing through the 2020s
Did he have COVID-19?
- He has said he caught the virus during the pandemic and talked about the experience on a podcast
- No reporting suggests lasting health effects
- He returned to Always Sunny production afterward
The distinction matters: a question about Glenn Howerton’s illness implies something hidden and ongoing. The available evidence describes a single, widely known virus — notable because it hit a public figure, not because it changed his career.
Timeline: key moments in Howerton’s career
- — Born April 13 in Okinawa, Japan (Wikipedia biography)
- 1996–2000 — Attends Juilliard’s Drama Division and graduates with a BFA (Wikipedia biography, Apple TV biography)
- 2002 — Stars in the Fox sitcom That ’80s Show (Wikipedia biography)
- 2003 — Guest-stars as Dr. Nick Cooper on ER (Wikipedia biography)
- 2005 — It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres on FX (Wikipedia biography)
- 2013 — Auditions for Star Lord (Wikipedia biography)
- 2017–2021 — Stars in and executive-produces AP Bio on NBC (Apple TV biography)
- 2018 — Misses the first half of Always Sunny season 13 during AP Bio production (Wikipedia biography)
- 2023 — Returns for Always Sunny season 16 (Wikipedia biography)
The pattern: every detour leads back to Philadelphia. Juilliard gave him the toolkit; AP Bio pulled him away for a moment; Always Sunny remained the center of gravity.
What’s confirmed and what’s unclear
A useful way to read any public figure’s dossier is to sort the claims into two piles. The hard facts have paper trails; the soft ones travel by rumor.
- Co-created It’s Always Sunny with Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day (Apple TV biography)
- Graduated from Juilliard’s Actor Training Program with a BFA (Apple TV biography)
- Auditioned for Star Lord; the role went to Chris Pratt (Wikipedia biography)
- Missed the first half of season 13 while AP Bio was in production (Wikipedia biography)
- Reported $25 million net worth — a celebrity-wealth estimate, not a verified figure (CelebrityNetWorth)
- Exact scheduling details behind the season 13 absence — never fully itemized publicly
- Details of the COVID-19 case — reportedly shared in podcast conversation, not a formal statement
- Juilliard “Group 29” classification — documented on Wikipedia, not in an official Juilliard listing (Wikipedia biography)
The pattern: work-related facts are well documented because they live in public records — credits, premieres, contracts. Money and health claims are thinner because the paper trail ends at estimates and podcasts.
Glenn Howerton in his own words
“The characters are distinct from the cast members’ real personalities.”
— Glenn Howerton, The Boston Phoenix interview
“Howerton graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the Actor Training Program.”
The common thread: Howerton keeps the craft in front of the persona. When he talks about the show, he draws a line between performance and performer — a distinction that comes up again whenever fans mistake Dennis for the man playing him.
The takeaway
For anyone tracking Howerton’s next move, the through-line is clear: he builds projects inside the comedy ecosystem he already works in, writing and producing as often as he acts. The season 13 gap, the AP Bio detour, and the Marvel near-miss all fit the same pattern — Howerton operates like a showrunner, not a hired lead. For fans of Dennis Reynolds, the practical takeaway is simple: watch the writer’s room, not the casting rumors, because that is where the real Glenn Howerton keeps turning up.
cbc.ca, imdb.com, sharpmagazine.com, vanityfair.com, imdb.com
Frequently asked questions
What is Glenn Howerton’s net worth?
Reported estimates place Howerton’s net worth at $25 million, a figure that circulates through celebrity-wealth trackers (CelebrityNetWorth). It is an estimate, not a verified financial filing.
What is Glenn Howerton’s height?
Biographical listings give his height as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m).
What movies has Glenn Howerton been in?
His feature credits include Must Love Dogs and Serenity, both released in 2005 (Wikipedia biography).
What TV shows has Glenn Howerton created?
He co-created It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day (Apple TV biography), and he starred in the NBC sitcom AP Bio as an actor-producer.
What was Glenn Howerton’s role on ER?
Howerton guest-starred as Dr. Nick Cooper on ER in 2003 (Wikipedia biography).
Is Glenn Howerton active on Reddit?
He does not maintain a verified official presence that has been publicly confirmed. He is a regular topic in fan communities such as r/IASIP, where interviews and clips circulate widely.
The FAQ pattern matches the profile: career facts have citations; estimates and personal-health details stay labeled as unverified.
References
Related reading
Craig Newton is Senior Reporter at ScopePress.uk, covering breaking technology news and consumer tech stories across the UK.