Is ‘The Ryan Reynolds-ificiation’ of Rob Mac Just An Elaborate ‘Fat Mac’ Successor?

A lot has changed for Rob Mac throughout It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s 17 seasons, and between his admittedly “kinda douchey” name change and his now-sparkling Hollywood sheen, fans have found themselves wondering whether the Ryan Reynolds-ification of Mac is really just an elaborate bit.

Long before the Deadpool star was a twinkle in Mac’s eye, Always Sunny was staring down its seventh season — a milestone that saw the actor not only questioning his own appearance, but briefly gaining over 50 pounds ahead of filming to subvert the trope of a mid-series glow-up. 

“I started to think about any show that I have ever seen in which that wasn’t the case,” he once told Lena Lamoray of “Fat Mac’s” origins. “I feel like shows in their sixth, seventh and eighth season(s), the actors have a lot more money, they become a little bit more famous, and they have better access to better wardrobe, new hair, new teeth, sometimes plastic surgery.”

Considering The Gang’s famously degenerate ways, Mac decided this type of transformation wasn’t suitable for the Paddy’s Pub crew. “I thought how untrue of life that was, that especially characters like this who abuse themselves in so many different ways, would start to look — would start to deteriorate over time and certainly wouldn’t look better,” he continued, noting that the weight gain was about “trying to look as unattractive” as he possibly could. 

“I grew a disgusting beard. I didn’t wash my hair. I was 50 pounds overweight. And yet, the character still thought he looked good. That to me was funny.“

Fourteen years later, Mac appears to have backtracked. His teeth are fluorescent white, and his shredded body has earned him a profile in Men’s Health. But while some blame this transformation on Reynolds-induced “symbi-brosis,” other Always Sunny viewers had a different thought: Is the actor’s new look a spiritual successor to Fat Mac?

“If Rob was willing to gain an absurd amount of weight and then lose it for shits and giggles, would it be so totally insane for him to recreate that,” one fan speculated in a post shared to the show’s subreddit. “Getting a bunch of filler and then later getting it dissolved again for the shits and giggles??” 

The Redditor’s husband thought she was “nuts” — “Rob has just gone full Hollywood,” her spouse replied — but other Redditors chimed in with their own theories. “It’s just not healthy to do that especially at Rob's age,” one poster mused, while another speculated on the scope of the star’s work. “He doesn’t even look like he has filler? His face just looks weird being as lean as he is plus his skin looks older. It’s just the steroids.” 

Others however, weren’t sold, convinced that the actor had gone full “industry jabroni.” 

“The difference is that Rob openly described his Season Seven weight gain as a conceptual bit, whereas how he has responded to reports of his post-Reynolds self-Flanderization is exactly the way you'd expect a Hollywood-brained plastic surgery addict to respond,” a commenter wrote. “Rob Mac is just really high on his own supply.” 

Unfortunately, the answer to these questions will likely remain between Mac, God and his team of trainers/plastic surgeons. After all, you can only learn so much from ocular patdowns.