‘Sunny’ actor lives large to make point

By Lynn Elber

AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Rob McElhenney got fat on purpose and to make a few weighty points.

He wanted to flesh out the idiocy and vanity of his sitcom’s character, Mac. He wanted to satirize the glam appearance of TV actors, no matter how mundane the part they’re playing. And, as a bonus, he threw in mockery of society’s obsession with looks.

What he didn’t intend with his 50-pound weight gain for the upcoming season is to make fun of obesity, McElhenney said. Online observers and some fans have expressed concern that “Sunny” is taking cheap shots at the overweight, which McElhenney called upsetting.

“It’s never been the intention of the show to be mean-spirited. The characters are mean-spirited. The show is satire,” he said.

No kidding. One hallmark “Sunny” episode saw Mac and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) attend opposite sides of an abortion rally to pick up women. Another episode had them explore using wheelchairs as a way to get sympathy and women.

McElhenney, 34, creator of the sitcom that returns to FX on Sept. 15, was willing to share how he packed on the pounds (and now is shedding them). First he detailed how inspiration struck.

Watching what he described diplomatically as a “very popular show,” he noticed that two of its stars looked artificially younger from one season to the next. More channel flipping brought him to a rerun of “Friends” and a reminder of how the cast grew better-looking from year to year.

Nicer teeth, hair, wardrobe and bodies “might work for a show like ‘Friends.’ But with ‘Sunny,’ the way the characters abuse themselves, they wouldn’t wind up looking better, they would wind up looking way worse,” he said.

That notion is unthinkable in the network TV world, which seeks out attractive people and makes them as likable as possible. But it fits nicely with the “Sunny” comedy ethos: making its characters head-smackingly obnoxious and strictly non-aspirational as, in part, a slap at the network model.

McElhenney tried to get his fellow co-stars, including his real-life wife Kaitlin Olson, Charlie Day and Howerton, to join him in his self-prescribed metamorphosis. They declined. Danny DeVito got a pass.

Alone, the 5-foot-9, 162-pound McElhenney set off on the path to a bigger future. It made sense for his character, who regularly makes noise about putting on body-builder mass while “all he does is abuse his body with food and alcohol,” he said.

He more than doubled his daily food intake to about 5,000 calories, trying to keep it relatively healthy by eating lean protein, brown rice and vegetables.

“It was more about the volume of calories rather than just eating crappy food,” McElhenney said. Regular check-ups ensured he wasn’t pushing his cholesterol or blood pressure up.