'Sunny' star talks 10th season, childhood in Montgomery

In many ways, Glenn Howerton's involvement in the FXX comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has lasted longer than anything else in his life, outside of his time in the Montgomery Public Schools system.

"I would actually liken it to being in school, where when it's time for the season to start again, we get in there, write the episodes, shoot them edit them and then it's summer vacation," Howerton said.

Howerton, who grew up in Montgomery and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School, will appear onscreen Wednesday in the 10th season premiere of the show, which first premiered on FX in 2005. Howerton, who helped developed the show alongside co-stars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, serves as executive producer, writer and co-star.

"In some ways, it's hard to imagine life where this isn't a part of it," he said.

The show stars Howerton, McElhenney, Day, Kaitlin Olson and Danny Devito and details the lives of a group of people that run a bar in Philadelphia and how they get involved in bizarre and unexpected comical situations, such as two of the characters deciding to get addicted to crack cocaine in order to receive welfare checks or the group seeking money to create a sequel to the "Lethal Weapon" film franchise, starring themselves.

"I hit a real turning point in Season 6 where I was, in some ways a little sick of it because I felt bound by having to write the same show with the same characters, but what I realized was we have created a world where in which our characters really can explore a lot of different territory and I wanted to use the show as an opportunity to take the characters to places that I didn't think were possible," Howerton said.

Howerton said one aspect of writing the show is making it a show that is exciting and unconventional.

"We're always trying to keep it interesting for ourselves in ways that are really unexpected," he said. "It's not for the sake of shocking people, but really surprising them."

Howerton's first foray into acting started in Montgomery. After moving to the city when he was 10, Howerton quickly developed a love for acting, which led to his involvement in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for a number of years as well as taking acting classes at the Creative and Performing Arts Center at Carver High School. However, Howerton did not initially consider a career in acting and considered going to Auburn University to study aerospace engineering until he received encouragement from his parents to pursue his passion.

"I think the main thing was they told me, 'If this is something that you are really passionate about, you should give it a shot, because I don't want you to look back and regret it,'" Howerton said.

The encouragement from his parents led Howerton to attend the New World School of the Arts in Miami for a couple of years before attending the Juilliard School, the prestigious arts conservatory in New York City.

Howerton's father, Glenn Howerton Jr., said his son has exceeded his expectations in all the best ways.

"I've always encouraged my kids to do what they love, and Glenn has been blessed in that he has done that," he said. "If you can find a way to do that, you never have to work a day in your life."

Howerton's father said even though he was not in the "target group" for "Sunny," he really enjoys watching it.

"They're really talented guys," he said. "They developed a good show in an unusual way and they became very popular in unconventional media."

Howerton said that even though he lives in Los Angeles now, his time living in Montgomery had a large impact on him.

"It was just that phase of growing up when you're influenced by everything," he said. "It was a big part of my life," Howerton said.

Howerton said he still visits the River Region once a year, where his parents live in Pike Road and his sister lives in Prattville.

Howerton said that currently, "Sunny" has been renewed through the 12th season, but how long the show lasts is ultimately up to the cast and writers.

"It's a matter of are there still stories that we want to tell that involve these characters," he said.

Howerton said what makes the show interesting for him is the camaraderie he has with the cast and the trust they have built up over the last decade.

"I think what makes this show different is that you can feel the chemistry that we as people have with each other," he said. "We generally like each other and we generally make each other laugh and I think that comes across."

In addition to "Sunny," Howerton is also a producer for an upcoming independent film called "All the Wilderness," which is set to premiere Feb. 20.

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" will premiere Wednesday at 9 p.m. CST.