Rise to Fame
At 27, Rob McElhenney was waiting tables and burning through bit parts when he pitched an idea to two friends: shoot a pilot on a borrowed camcorder for $85 in blank tapes. The concept was a 'reverse Friends,' people stuck together because no one else wanted them. FX picked it up, moved the setting from LA to Philly, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia debuted in 2005. It's now the longest-running live-action American sitcom. Most shows don't ask whether the characters actually grow. Sunny decided the answer was no.
In the Spotlight
Buying a fifth-tier Welsh football club for £2 million in 2021 seemed like a vanity project. Three consecutive promotions later, Wrexham AFC is in the Championship and closing in on the Premier League. The Welcome to Wrexham documentary won two Emmys. He also co-owns Club Necaxa in Mexico with Reynolds. The sports empire now arguably outpaces the TV career, which is saying something for the guy who's still running the show he shot for $85.
Side Notes
His mother came out as a lesbian when he was 8; his two brothers are also gay. He's described himself as having 'always been part of the gay community,' which partly explains why It's Always Sunny spent years treating Mac's closeted homosexuality as both the show's longest-running joke and eventually one of its most earnest moments. The Season 13 prison dance sequence was the payoff. In 2023, he got a diagnosis for neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities. He'd built a franchise before finding any of that out.