The It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Character Fans Think Is Underrated
Pitch-black FX sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is centered on a depraved, narcissistic group of friends who run a South Philly dive bar, Paddy's Pub. The Gang, as the show labels them, consists of Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), his stepson Dennis (Glenn Howerton), his twin sister Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and high school friends Ronald "Mac" McDonald (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day).
The show largely centers on their horrible misadventures, but over more than a dozen seasons, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has created a hilarious recurring cast of other Pennsylvania residents that the Gang often interacts with. Some are often just as awful as Dennis and Dee, like Bill Ponderosa (Lance Barber), while others are relatively well-adjusted people trying to deal with the main cast's chaos. Matthew "Rickety Cricket" Mara (David Hornsby) is maybe the most famous supporting character of the show, a former high school classmate whose life only ever gets worse whenever he encounters the Gang.
Of course, some guest stars only showed up for one episode, but that doesn't mean fans wouldn't have them back on the series. A recent Reddit thread spotlighted one "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" character who commenters felt should've gotten more notice.
Dr. Larry Myers was hilariously dramatic
On the r/IASIP subreddit, u/HarryPottahIsDead posted a scene from the Season 6 episode "The Gang Gets A New Member." Dee's former high school teacher, Dr. Larry Myers (Rene Auberjonois), is captioned by a line about when he was a younger teacher: "My enthusiasm in those days was entirely fueled by the alcohol."
Redditors agreed that it was "An underrated line from a favourite [sic] episode," as the headline stated, and started quoting great jokes from the drama teacher. Dr. Myers is a former mentor whose love of acting once inspired Dee but is now burnt out after getting sober. His best deliveries include "Rot in hell, wretched beast!" and "I am shattered to pieces!" u/Mad_Roo even commented on the last part, "Came here to say that's my favorite line from the episode and one of my favorites lines from the show in general. Uttered by a one-off character, no less."
After Dr. Myer's hip is broken, Dee becomes a substitute teacher to Myers' class of apathetic kids in "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth." Myers doesn't return to the show, but the character did fit perfectly into the dysfunctional world of "Always Sunny."
Auberjonois was Odo on Deep Space Nine
One Redditor, u/MagnifyingGlass, complimented the performer who played Dr. Myers: "I always thought Rene Auberjonois was a h*** of an underappreciated actor. He brought great heart and believability to every role he ever had."
As a stage veteran himself, Auberjonois knew how to parody the histrionics of an acting teacher, and he had even won a Tony in 1970 for starring in the musical "Coco." Auberjonois also racked up a staggering 228 screen credits on IMDb before his death in 2019. The actor was a recurring player in Robert Altman films, including "The Player" and "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," and he was also featured in the 1976 remake of "King Kong." Nevertheless, his television acting is what brought him greater fame.
Auberjonois played the title role on the sitcom "Benson" and was also a regular on "Boston Legal." However, his most famous character is still Odo, a grumpy Changeling security officer who struggles with his identity and being the last of his kind in the 1990s series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
The actor knew just how to embody entitled or cranky figures like Odo without depriving them of pathos, and he was genuinely proud of his work. In a 2011 Star Trek interview, he noted how often he was recognized for all kinds of different roles years after a film or show was completed: "I am all of those characters, and I love that."