Glenn Franklin Howerton III (born April 13, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for playingDennis Reynolds on the long-runningsitcomIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present) onFX/FXX, a series he co-developed^[1] withRob McElhenney, and on which he serves as an executive producer and writer.^[2] In film, he is best known for his portrayal ofJim Balsillie in the Canadian filmBlackBerry (2023).^[3]

Glenn Howerton
Howerton in 2013
Born	Glenn Franklin Howerton III (1976-04-13)April 13, 1976 (age 49) Okinawa, Japan
Education	Miami Dade College Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupations	Actor writer producer podcaster
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Jill Latiano ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	2

His other notable performances on television include the recurring role of Cliff Gilbert onFox'sThe Mindy Project (2012–2017), Don Chumph on the first season of FX'sFargo (2014) and Jack Griffin, the lead role onNBC'sA.P. Bio (2018–2021).^[4]

Howerton also co-hostedThe Always Sunny Podcast with his fellow co-creators McElhenney andCharlie Day from 2021 to 2023.

Glenn Franklin Howerton III was born on April 13, 1976, in Japan, the son of American parents Janice and Glenn Franklin Howerton Jr. His father was afighter pilot.^[5] He has an older sister named Courtney.^[6]

Almost immediately after his birth, his family moved toArizona and thenNew Mexico for a short while. When he was three years old, they settled in the English town ofFelixstowe, Suffolk for four years. They subsequently moved toVirginia, followed bySouth Korea, where they lived inSeoul. When he was 10 years old, the family moved toMontgomery, Alabama.^[7]

After graduating fromJefferson Davis High School, Howerton moved toMiami where he spent two years atNew World School of the Arts ofMiami Dade College. In 1996, he enteredJuilliard School's Drama Division in New York City where he graduated with aBachelor of Fine Arts as part of Group 29 (1996–2000).^[8][9]

In 2002, Howerton starred as Corey Howard inThat '80s Show.^[10] He went on to guest star onER as Dr. Nick Cooper in 2003. He had small roles in the filmsMust Love Dogs (2005),Serenity (2005),Two Weeks (2006), andThe Strangers (2008). He also appeared as a doctor inCrank (2006), and reprised the role in its 2009 sequel,Crank: High Voltage.

Howerton is most well known for playing the deeply narcissistic and anti-social bartender of Paddy's Pub,Dennis Reynolds, one of the main characters on the FX sitcomIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present). The series was co-created byRob McElhenney,Charlie Day and him, and the three serve as executive producers, writers and main cast members alongsideKaitlin Olson andDanny DeVito.^[1] As of season 14, he has also directed two episodes. In December 2021,Always Sunny became the longest-running live-action American comedy of all time with the release of its fifteenth season.

In 2008, Howerton co-created sci-fi comedyBoldly Going Nowhere with Day, McElhenney and writing assistant Adam Stein, but the pilot was permanently shelved. He has also had producing roles on various projects created by otherAlways Sunny colleagues likeDavid Hornsby such asHow to Be a Gentleman,Unsupervised andThe Cool Kids. Howerton also did several voice roles including a recurring part onThe Cleveland Show as Ernie Krinklesac.

He played the lead role in a film for the first time in 2013, when he landed the character of Will in theCollegeHumor comedy filmCoffee Town with co-starsSteve Little andBen Schwartz. Soon after, he landed recurring roles on theFox comedy seriesThe Mindy Project (2012–2017) as Cliff Gilbert, the divorce lawyer introduced in season 2 as one of Mindy's love interests,^[11] on the critically acclaimed first season of the FX dark comedy seriesFargo (2014–present) as Don Chumph,^[12] and on theShowtime comedy-drama seriesHouse of Lies (2012–2016) starringDon Cheadle in its final season as the young mayoral candidate Seth Buckley.^[13] Howerton also played a small part as the gun-running Dominic in theNetflix Original filmOfficer Downe (2016) starringKim Coates.

His next major television role came in 2018 on theNBC single-camera comedy created byMike O'Brien,A.P. Bio (2018–2021), where he played Jack Griffin, an arrogant Harvard philosophy professor whose fall from grace had forced him to get a job teaching biology to high school students in his hometown of Toledo while plotting to exact revenge on his nemesis and restore his career.^[14] The show ran for two seasons on NBC before it was cancelled and then picked up byPeacock, NBC's streaming service, where it ran for another two seasons. In December 2021, it was cancelled for good.^[15][16] In October 2022, it was announced that he would be voicingFred Jones on the upcomingHBO Max animated seriesVelma.^[17]

Starting in November 2021, Day, McElhenney and Howerton launchedThe Always Sunny Podcast, a weekly show loosely based on the rewatch format of podcasting, which had grown in popularity in recent years, to coincide with the release of the record-breaking season 15 ofIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.^[18] In June 2022, they releasedFour WallsWhiskey with all proceeds from the 15-year single-malt Irish whiskey going towards supporting the Pennsylvania hospitality industry which was badly hit by the pandemic.^[19][20]

In August 2022, after production had wrapped, it was announced that Howerton would be co-starring withJay Baruchel in a Canadian biopic directed byMatt Johnson on the rise and fall of BlackBerry as one of its co-founders.^[21] The filmBlackBerry (2023) premiered in competition atBerlinale 2023 on February 17 to positive reviews from critics with Howerton's performance as Jim Balsillie being especially well received.^[22][23][24]

In July 2024, it was announced that Howerton would be playing Ethan Corbin II, a lifelong bachelor burning through his trust fund, on the upcomingNetflix dark comedy limited seriesSirens.^[25]

Howerton dated actressMorena Baccarin when they were inJuilliard together.^{[citation needed]}

Howerton married actress and dancerJill Latiano on September 5, 2009. The two had been engaged for over a year. In September 2011, the couple welcomed their first son. In 2014, the couple announced the birth of their second son.^[26]

Howerton was diagnosed withADHD in 2023.^[27] Howerton has said that he follows avegan diet "about 95% of the time."^[28]

• Glenn Howerton onTwitter
• Glenn Howerton atIMDb