Mac (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Encyclopedia
"Mac" is a fictional character
on the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
. Mac is Charlie
's childhood friend and Dennis
's high school friend and later roommate. He is a co-owner of Paddy's and generally the pub's most active manager. Mac is played by Rob McElhenney
. A moral and physical coward, Mac frequently strives to appear "hard", usually to impress his father or friends, but he generally flees from confrontations and fares poorly in fights.
Mac carols his signature line, "What's up, bitches?", throughout the series. In many episodes, Mac will enter the bar announcing "I've got news", or a variation on that basic idea, to set the episode's plot in motion. The others rarely share his enthusiasm, but he usually convinces one of them to follow him, though often reluctantly. Throughout the series, Mac flashes his signature "puppy-dog look" when he is ashamed or when he proposes something reprehensibly shameful.
is referred to as "Franklin" to reflect the episode's time-period. In the episode "Who Got Dee Pregnant?", one of the McPoyle brothers refers to Mac as "Macwell". On parole papers seen in the episode "Mac & Charlie Die", Mac's father's name is listed as "Luther Mac" and his mother is usually referred to as Mrs. Mac.
; his father has been incarcerated
for dealing meth
and his mother is extremely apathetic
and unemotional. Mac and his mother also own a dog named Poppins, who despite being extremely old and prone to eating poisonous objects appears to be practically indestructible. He sees himself as a karate
expert and total bad ass. Mac constantly seeks the acceptance of others, especially his parents, but his over-earnest efforts make him come off as an "asshole." Earlier, under the impression that his father would possibly murder him after being paroled, Mac later receives a warm letter from his father, specifically requesting that Mac stay away from him. This letter is written as Mac's father fears that Mac's destructive tendencies could harm him. Dennis notes that the only reason Mac hung out with the popular kids in high school was because he sold them all weed and even then was considered an "asshole." Though Dennis reigns supreme as selfish and arrogant, Mac has made his fair share of selfish, inconsiderate decisions and observations.
Although he seeks his friends' acceptance, Mac takes special pleasure in undermining, physically harming, contradicting, and publicly belittling Sweet Dee
at every possible opportunity, more so than Charlie
or even Dennis (this hatred gains amusing subtext because the actors who play Mac and Sweet Dee are married parents in real life). Mac is considered by every member of The Gang to be a "jerk", and is nearly always the first to start betraying the others, though he does usually stick with Dennis, who is his best friend and has known him longer than anybody in The Gang but Charlie. Like Dennis, Mac sees himself as superior to the rest of The Gang and often attempts to prove his supremacy. For instance, in an attempt to impress Charlie and Dennis, he makes a series of "Project Badass" videotapes that consist of various idiotic stunts set to music
; however, the pair believes that Mac is just trying to "bang" them. He has an ongoing sexual relationship with a pre-op transsexual
named Carmen, for whom he claims he is just "putting in time" as he waits for her surgery
. There is much evidence that Mac is harboring one or more STDs
, especially since he refuses to wear condoms, most likely due to his faith (see below).
Mac sincerely believes that he is an adept martial artist with "cat-like reflexes", and he usually wears sleeveless shirts to draw attention to his physique and to exhibit his tribal tattoos
. Despite his apparent fitness, Mac generally focuses his workout time on developing his glamor muscles and is largely the weakest member in The Gang, behind everyone but Dennis. Despite his enthusiasm towards karate, he is shown to have no real expert (or basic) skills when showing off his talent, and is a coward when it comes to physical confrontations.
A Catholic
, Mac is the only member of The Gang to profess a religious faith. Though Mac seems to care more about issues such as abortion, community activism
, and parenting
than the rest of The Gang, his views on such subjects are invariably twisted, ignorant, or prejudiced, and his actions regarding them are always hypocritical and selfish. For instance, after pretending to be adamantly pro-life in order to attract a female activist, Mac later demands that she get an abortion when he thinks she has become pregnant by him. In another instance involving the transsexual Carmen, Mac discovers that she has married and had the operation to remove her penis. He then belittles Carmen and her husband by quoting the Bible to them and calling them "gay"; however he only reacts so because he expected Carmen to call him once she had the operation so they could date again. Mac constantly drinks alcohol
like the rest of The Gang and abuses other substances, such as poppers
and glue.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
. Mac is Charlie
Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Charles "Charlie" Kelly is a fictional character on the FX television series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," portrayed by Charlie Day. Charlie is co-owner at Paddy's and a childhood friend of Mac and Dennis...
's childhood friend and Dennis
Dennis Reynolds
Dennis Reynolds is a fictional character on the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Dennis is a co-owner of Paddy's and is Deandra's twin brother. Dennis is extremely narcissistic, selfish, histrionic and vain. His sense of self-worth is entirely dependent on what others think...
's high school friend and later roommate. He is a co-owner of Paddy's and generally the pub's most active manager. Mac is played by Rob McElhenney
Rob McElhenney
Robert Dale "Rob" McElhenney is an American film and television actor best known for his role as Mac on the FX TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia...
. A moral and physical coward, Mac frequently strives to appear "hard", usually to impress his father or friends, but he generally flees from confrontations and fares poorly in fights.
Mac carols his signature line, "What's up, bitches?", throughout the series. In many episodes, Mac will enter the bar announcing "I've got news", or a variation on that basic idea, to set the episode's plot in motion. The others rarely share his enthusiasm, but he usually convinces one of them to follow him, though often reluctantly. Throughout the series, Mac flashes his signature "puppy-dog look" when he is ashamed or when he proposes something reprehensibly shameful.
Name
Mac's full name is ambiguous. In the season four episode "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell", the Colonial-era Mac character is referred to as "MacDonald," hinting Mac is the abbreviated nickname of his last name.; however, in the same episode, the Colonial-era FrankFrank Reynolds (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Frank Reynolds is a fictional character on the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Frank is the legal father of twins Dennis and Dee and the roommate and alleged biological father of Charlie. He is played by Danny DeVito....
is referred to as "Franklin" to reflect the episode's time-period. In the episode "Who Got Dee Pregnant?", one of the McPoyle brothers refers to Mac as "Macwell". On parole papers seen in the episode "Mac & Charlie Die", Mac's father's name is listed as "Luther Mac" and his mother is usually referred to as Mrs. Mac.
Description
Mac comes from a broken homeBroken Home
Broken home is a term used to describe a household, usually in reference to parenting, in which the family unit does not properly function according to accepted societal norms. This household might suffer from domestic violence, a dissolved marriage, drug abuse, or anything else that interferes...
; his father has been incarcerated
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for dealing meth
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
and his mother is extremely apathetic
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
and unemotional. Mac and his mother also own a dog named Poppins, who despite being extremely old and prone to eating poisonous objects appears to be practically indestructible. He sees himself as a karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
expert and total bad ass. Mac constantly seeks the acceptance of others, especially his parents, but his over-earnest efforts make him come off as an "asshole." Earlier, under the impression that his father would possibly murder him after being paroled, Mac later receives a warm letter from his father, specifically requesting that Mac stay away from him. This letter is written as Mac's father fears that Mac's destructive tendencies could harm him. Dennis notes that the only reason Mac hung out with the popular kids in high school was because he sold them all weed and even then was considered an "asshole." Though Dennis reigns supreme as selfish and arrogant, Mac has made his fair share of selfish, inconsiderate decisions and observations.
Although he seeks his friends' acceptance, Mac takes special pleasure in undermining, physically harming, contradicting, and publicly belittling Sweet Dee
Deandra Reynolds
Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds is a fictional character on the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, portrayed by actress Kaitlin Olson. Dee was the only major character in the show to be conceived without an actor in mind...
at every possible opportunity, more so than Charlie
Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Charles "Charlie" Kelly is a fictional character on the FX television series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," portrayed by Charlie Day. Charlie is co-owner at Paddy's and a childhood friend of Mac and Dennis...
or even Dennis (this hatred gains amusing subtext because the actors who play Mac and Sweet Dee are married parents in real life). Mac is considered by every member of The Gang to be a "jerk", and is nearly always the first to start betraying the others, though he does usually stick with Dennis, who is his best friend and has known him longer than anybody in The Gang but Charlie. Like Dennis, Mac sees himself as superior to the rest of The Gang and often attempts to prove his supremacy. For instance, in an attempt to impress Charlie and Dennis, he makes a series of "Project Badass" videotapes that consist of various idiotic stunts set to music
Here I Go Again
"Here I Go Again" is a #1 hit song recorded by Whitesnake. Originally released on their 1982 album, Saints & Sinners, the song was re-recorded for their eponymous 1987 album Whitesnake. The song was re-recorded yet another time that year in a new "radio-mix" version...
; however, the pair believes that Mac is just trying to "bang" them. He has an ongoing sexual relationship with a pre-op transsexual
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...
named Carmen, for whom he claims he is just "putting in time" as he waits for her surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
. There is much evidence that Mac is harboring one or more STDs
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
, especially since he refuses to wear condoms, most likely due to his faith (see below).
Mac sincerely believes that he is an adept martial artist with "cat-like reflexes", and he usually wears sleeveless shirts to draw attention to his physique and to exhibit his tribal tattoos
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
. Despite his apparent fitness, Mac generally focuses his workout time on developing his glamor muscles and is largely the weakest member in The Gang, behind everyone but Dennis. Despite his enthusiasm towards karate, he is shown to have no real expert (or basic) skills when showing off his talent, and is a coward when it comes to physical confrontations.
A Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Mac is the only member of The Gang to profess a religious faith. Though Mac seems to care more about issues such as abortion, community activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, and parenting
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
than the rest of The Gang, his views on such subjects are invariably twisted, ignorant, or prejudiced, and his actions regarding them are always hypocritical and selfish. For instance, after pretending to be adamantly pro-life in order to attract a female activist, Mac later demands that she get an abortion when he thinks she has become pregnant by him. In another instance involving the transsexual Carmen, Mac discovers that she has married and had the operation to remove her penis. He then belittles Carmen and her husband by quoting the Bible to them and calling them "gay"; however he only reacts so because he expected Carmen to call him once she had the operation so they could date again. Mac constantly drinks alcohol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
like the rest of The Gang and abuses other substances, such as poppers
Poppers
Poppers is a slang term for various alkyl nitrites inhaled for recreational purposes, particularly isopropyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite , and now more rarely, butyl nitrite and amyl nitrite...
and glue.