When a television show is on for an exceptionally long time, it’s fun to go back to early episodes and not only witness how the series has evolved, but also to look for familiar faces. A great number of popular actors got their starts in the industry by doing single episode appearances, and it can be a thrill to recognize them from a time before they became well-known. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a terrific title to explore in this regard, as seasons from more than a decade ago feature some very familiar names.
Not counting notable guest spots or actors who appeared after their big breaks in Hollywood, I’ve put together this feature spotlighting performers who did some of their earliest work on the comedy that you may have never noticed. This is an aspect of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia that goes all the way back to the very beginning of the show, starting with…
Malcolm Barrett
From Timeless to Preacher to Better Off Ted to The Boys, Malcolm Barrett is consistently a highlight in every show in which he appears, but all the way back in 2005 he was a part of television history: the very first episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The show launched with a pilot titled “The Gang Gets Racist,” and Barrett plays Terrell – a club promoter who promises big crowds for Paddy’s Pub and, to the surprise of the gang, turns the bar into a hot spot for the gay community.
Jaimie Alexander
A full six years before she would make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Sif in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, Jaimie Alexander’s second professional acting gig in Hollywood was the third episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In “Underage Drinking: A National Concern,” she plays Tammy – a high school student who makes Dennis uncomfortable by coming on to him shortly after Mac and Charlie accuse him of chasing young women. It turns out, however, that she is simply flirting with him as a means of getting revenge on her ex-boyfriend, and she ditches him right before her prom.
Paul Walter Hauser
You’d be excused for not recognizing Paul Walter Hauser from his single episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia – after all, he is wearing Insane Clown Posse makeup for most of his appearance. The Golden Globe-nominated star of Richard Jewell and the Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird is in the episode “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth,” and gets taken under Charlie’s wing when the former Paddy’s Pub janitor becomes a custodian at his former high school.
Jimmy O. Yang
In 2014, Jimmy O. Yang landed his first significant supporting role on a TV series, accelerating his comedy career, but it was a year before that when he played Tang-See in the “Flowers For Charlie” episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The part was his first credited character with a name, and he is featured as a scientist who oversees Charlie while he is the subject of a Flowers For Algernon-esque experiment – one that turns out to be completely bogus and does nothing but inflate Charlie’s ego instead of making him smarter.
Tiffany Haddish
The second season premiere of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, “Charlie Gets Crippled,” is best known among fans for featuring the first appearance of Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds, but not to be ignored is a surprise appearance from comedy star Tiffany Haddish, more than a full decade before her breakout turn in Girl’s Trip. She is credited as “Stripper #3” in the episode, and is featured in a scene where Charlie tries to pick up women at a strip club after breaking both of his legs. Unfortunately, he takes a bit too much inspiration from Tom Cruise’s performance in Born On The Fourth Of July and ends up freaking her out.
Retta
Retta ended up becoming a TV staple after landing the role of Donna Meagle on Parks & Recreation, following up that series with shows including Girlfriend’s Guide To Divorce and Good Girls, but the year before becoming a part of Must-See TV history saw her appear in the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia episode “The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition.” She plays a clerk at a hardware store who has a spat with Dennis and Charlie when they try and charge more than $3,000 to a non-existent Extreme Home Makeover account while they are illegally working to renovate a neighbor’s house.
Pablo Schreiber
These days, Pablo Schreiber is best known for playing the helmeted Master Chief on the series Halo and as George “Pornstache” Mendez from Orange Is The New Black, but you may not recall that, back in 2009, he appeared in the “A Very Sunny Christmas” episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (admittedly, this did come after his recurring role on Season 2 of The Wire). In the holiday special, Schreiber appears as Ricky Falcone, a former classmate of Mac and Charlie’s whom Mac unknowingly robbed on Christmas day during his childhood. The pair of idiots try and make it up to Ricky as adults, but they go about it in an exceptionally stupid fashion (no surprises there).
Nasim Pedrad
Nasim Pedrad got her big break in 2009 when she became a part of the cast of Saturday Night Live, but within a month of her first episode on the classic sketch show, she also appeared on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Fans can spot her in the first scene of “The Waitress Is Getting Married” in Season 5, as she plays a salesperson in a bridal shop who accuses Dee of trying on wedding dresses without being engaged. It’s a fun bit of history that is made more fun knowing that Nasim’s younger sister, Nina Pedrad, became a writer and producer on the FXX series in 2021.
As you can see, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has an impressive history of casting young talent, and it’s something that the show continues to do to this day. The sixteenth season of the beloved comedy series has begun, airing new episodes on FXX on Wednesdays. You can learn how to watch with our It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia streaming guide, and for further reading, check out our list of the funniest side characters on the show, and our ranking of all of the seasons thus far.
