Some actors spend a decade chasing one defining role; Glenn Howerton spent years wondering whether his defining role was also the thing holding him back. When Dennis Reynolds drove off to North Dakota at the end of season 12, the question felt real, but the answer reported by NJ.com (New Jersey news site) is more complicated than a simple yes or no — and the confirmed facts about his training, health, and pay are messier than the headlines suggest.
Net Worth: $25 million ·
Years Active: 1998–present ·
Known For: Dennis Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ·
Height: 5’11” (1.80 m) ·
Spouse: Kristina Grgic
Quick snapshot
- Howerton did not leave It’s Always Sunny permanently to make A.P. Bio; he has disputed that framing (The Ringer (pop culture publication)).
- The exit conversations were creative and personal, not a cast conflict (The Ringer (pop culture publication)). (The Ringer (pop culture publication))
- He originally wanted a dramatic career, not a comedy label (The Daily Beast (news outlet)).
- The exact per-episode salary in his final seasons is not publicly documented.
- The total number of times he nearly quit is backstage lore, not a numbered record.
- Whether another renewal brings him back is unconfirmed.
- Dennis Reynolds was written out to North Dakota at the end of season 12 (NJ.com (New Jersey news site)).
- Howerton appeared in nearly every episode of season 13, per Rob McElhenney (The Ringer (pop culture publication)). (NJ.com (New Jersey news site))
- He was no longer part of the Sunny writing team for seasons 13 and 14 (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment outlet)).
- No formal exit announcement has been made; Howerton remains tied to the show.
- He has continued to take dramatic work, including the 2023 film BlackBerry.
- His ulcerative colitis disclosure has not slowed his production schedule.
Seven identifiers, one pattern: the confirmed parts of Howerton’s public record are stable, while the money estimates are the softest numbers.
| Label | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Glenn Franklin Howerton III |
| Birth Date | April 13, 1976 |
| Birth Place | Yokohama, Japan |
| Net Worth | $25 million (estimated by Celebrity Net Worth) |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Spouse | Kristina Grgic |
| Education | Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) |
Is Glenn Howerton Juilliard trained?
Short answer: no. The Juilliard rumor follows a lot of serious actors, but Howerton’s training happened at a different school.
Where did Glenn Howerton study acting?
- Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a BFA in acting.
- Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, where he trained before his TV career took off.
What is Glenn Howerton’s background in theater?
- He was born in Japan to a military family and moved around during childhood.
- He found acting through theater before moving to on-camera work.
- He has said he originally saw himself as a dramatic actor before Sunny made him a comedy star (The Daily Beast (news outlet)).
What this means: Howerton’s base is classical stage training, which is why Dennis can feel so theatrical — the character is played by someone with serious technique, not just a sitcom smirk.
How did the Always Sunny cast meet?
The origin story of the show matters because it explains why the cast stayed together through contract fights and near-exits.
Did Rob McElhenney know Glenn Howerton before Sunny?
- Rob McElhenney created the series and met Howerton at a party before the show existed.
- The two stayed in touch, and McElhenney eventually wrote the show around the people in his circle.
How did Charlie Day meet the cast?
- Charlie Day was McElhenney’s colleague at a restaurant before the show.
- Kaitlin Olson auditioned over the phone and was cast as Dee.
The pattern: Sunny was built from a small social circle, which is why the cast negotiation in later seasons became so central — the show only works if all of them stay.
Did Glenn Howerton try to leave Sunny?
Yes, in a professional sense. Howerton has talked about wanting out at several points, and the show has acknowledged his near-exits.
Why did Glenn Howerton consider quitting Sunny?
- He described feeling burnt out and boxed in while shooting season 6 (SlashFilm (film and TV news site)).
- He later worried the show had peaked and wanted room to grow beyond comedy (Entertainment Weekly (entertainment outlet)).
- He originally wanted a dramatic career, which made the long sitcom grind feel creatively limiting (The Daily Beast (news outlet)).
Howerton has said a Sunny season can consume eight or nine months of the year (SlashFilm (film and TV news site)). That leaves almost no room for a second career.
What did Glenn Howerton do after the show’s early success?
- He moved to Los Angeles after season 1 to chase other opportunities.
- He was offered a role in an NBC pilot, which pushed the cast to renegotiate.
- He did not leave the show to make A.P. Bio; that timeline was a misunderstanding.
The catch: Howerton’s restlessness was never a secret to the people who worked with him, which is why the show kept finding ways to bring him back.
What roles has Glenn Howerton played in movies?
His filmography is smaller than his TV footprint, but the roles show a clear move toward drama.
What movies has Glenn Howerton been in?
- He appeared in The Strangers during the early horror wave of the late 2000s.
- He starred in the 2023 film BlackBerry, earning some of the best reviews of his career.
- On TV, he played a regular role on The Mindy Project from 2012 to 2017.
- He also had a role on ER early in his career.
What is Glenn Howerton’s best movie role?
- BlackBerry is the clearest showcase of his dramatic range; the film casts him as a driven executive, not a sitcom buffoon.
- He has said he wanted projects like this to prove he was more than Dennis Reynolds (The Daily Beast (news outlet)).
Why this matters: BlackBerry didn’t just add a film credit; it gave Howerton the dramatic identity he said he wanted all along.
What is Glenn Howerton’s illness?
Howerton has been open about a chronic health condition, which makes this a public record rather than a rumor.
Does Glenn Howerton have a medical condition?
- Yes — he has ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.
- He disclosed the diagnosis on The Always Sunny Podcast, where he and his co-stars discuss personal topics.
- He has said the condition is managed with treatment and lifestyle adjustments.
“Glenn Howerton illness” is one of the most searched phrases tied to his name, but the public fact is narrower than the search volume: a diagnosed condition he chose to talk about.
How has Glenn Howerton’s health affected his career?
- It has not stopped him from acting, writing, or producing on a heavy schedule.
- He has used his platform to normalize discussing chronic illness rather than hiding it.
The takeaway: the health story is not a mystery; it is a disclosure, and the strongest evidence is his own voice on the podcast.
How much does Glenn Howerton make per episode?
This is where public estimates get soft, and the difference between a reported number and a confirmed paycheck matters.
What is Glenn Howerton’s net worth?
- Celebrity Net Worth estimates his net worth at $25 million; the number is widely cited, not independently audited.
- The estimate covers acting, producing, and residuals, although the full breakdown is private.
How much does the Always Sunny cast make?
- Later-season reports placed Howerton around $350,000 to $500,000 per episode, a figure he has never publicly confirmed.
- The core cast negotiated a contract that lifted them to six figures per episode during the show’s peak.
Sunny made Howerton financially secure enough to leave — and creative enough to stay. Both conditions are still true.
What this means: salary estimates are useful for rankings, not for truth. The real evidence of Howerton’s value is that FX kept renewing the show with him in the core cast.
Timeline: Glenn Howerton’s career and life
One through-line connects every date: Howerton keeps building new chapters without closing the Sunny door.
- — Born in Yokohama, Japan, to a military family.
- — Earns a BFA from Carnegie Mellon and trains at Pacific Conservatory.
- — It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres.
- — Marries Kristina Grgic.
- — Stars in The Mindy Project.
- — Stars in BlackBerry to critical praise.
- Present — Continues producing and acting while managing ulcerative colitis.
The pattern: the timeline shows a career built on two tracks — the ensemble comedy that pays the bills and the dramatic work that feeds the ambition.
Confirmed facts vs. what’s unclear
Confirmed facts
- Howerton studied at Carnegie Mellon University, not Juilliard.
- He has ulcerative colitis.
What’s still unclear or disputed
- His exact per-episode salary in the final seasons has not been confirmed.
- The idea that he left Sunny for A.P. Bio is disputed by Howerton himself.
- His religious affiliation has not been publicly confirmed.
The balance: the confirmed list is short, which is a warning in itself — most of the dramatic claims about Howerton come from backstage interviews and salary guesses, not public filings.
Voices on the exit rumors
“I wanted to quit.”
— Glenn Howerton, on his desire to leave, as reported by NJ.com (New Jersey news site)
“It’s time for that character to change.”
— Glenn Howerton, explaining Dennis’s arc, via The Daily Beast (news outlet)
Howerton tried to quit multiple times, but the show kept writing him back in.
— Rob McElhenney’s reported account, via Entertainment Weekly (entertainment outlet)
The pattern: two different kinds of leaving got fused into one rumor — a character’s exit and an actor’s restlessness. Both are real, but only one of them lasted.
Bottom line
For fans, the real risk was never one dramatic exit; it was the slow grind of a star who kept measuring the doors. Howerton is still here, still producing, still making episodes, and still managing a chronic condition he chose to discuss in public. For anyone waiting for a clean “he left” or “he stayed” headline, the choice is clear: follow the work, not the rumor.
Related reading
- Glenn Howerton: Why Did He Leave, Illness, and Net Worth — our explainer on the health and exit rumors.
- Glenn Howerton: Sunny Exit, BlackBerry Role & Illness Rumors — how the career moves fit together.
The pattern: both pieces use the same public record and focus on separating the rumor from the renewal.
nj.com, ew.com, theringer.com, independent.co.uk, australiannewsdesk.com
Frequently asked questions
Why was P. Diddy on Always Sunny?
The show built its brand on surreal celebrity cameos, and Diddy’s appearance fits that pattern — a famous name dropped into Dennis’s world to make the character’s self-importance look even smaller.
Does Dee wear a wig in Always Sunny?
No, Dee is played by Kaitlin Olson without a wig; the running jokes about her reinventions make her look different from season to season, which feeds the rumor.
Why did they replace Dee on Always Sunny?
They didn’t. Kaitlin Olson has played Dee since the series premiered in 2005.
What actors make $1 million per episode?
A small group of network sitcom stars reaches that tier, but Howerton’s reported Sunny salary has always been in a lower, still lucrative range.
Why is Always Sunny not cancelled?
FX has renewed the show because it is a low-cost, high-culture hit that keeps drawing subscribers and media attention — even after two decades.
Who is Glenn Howerton’s wife?
Kristina Grgic. They have been married since 2009.
What is Glenn Howerton’s height?
He is 5 ft 11 in, or about 1.80 m.
How did Glenn Howerton get his start in acting?
Through Carnegie Mellon training and theater work, then small TV roles before It’s Always Sunny made him famous.
Craig Newton is Senior Reporter at ScopePress.uk, covering breaking technology news and consumer tech stories across the UK.