I’ve become a big podcast fan in the last year as I’ve integrated a commute into my routine that gives me enough time to consume them. I started with some of the big obvious shows like WTF, Doug Loves Movies, our own CHUD Show (duh) and the Creative Screenwriting cast (when it was still a thing), but honestly my rotation hasn’t gotten very deep as most of these shows have been going for years, and between the new weekly shows and their back catalogs I’m still not caught up! But Marc Maron’s WTF podcast is on especially frequently in my car, as his episode list is so huge and so densely packed with cool people he’s interviewed from the stand-up and screen comedy world. Very recently he had on Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton of Always Sunny In Philadelphia to talk about their experiences making the 8-season hit, and unexpectedly a little mention of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim came up…

You may know that Charlie Day will be appearing in the film as a professor/scientist of some sort, and that subject was briefly touched on in the podcast. It came as Charlie Day discussed the idea of being typecast, and that he had a habit of rewriting dialogue when he auditioned for television pilots. You can listen to the pertinent clip of the full episode here…

Glenn: But this next thing you’re gonna do is… what?

Day: Completely different. Yeah, gonna do some big Guillermo Del Toro monster movie thing and play an intelligent scientist.

Maron: Really?

Day: Yeah.

Maron: Did you change the script on that one when you went in?

[laughter]

Day: You know, he told me too!

Maron: He did?

Day: …and I’m freaked out about it. Because, well, I kind of know how to do that with comedy. Where with comedy I can go in and I can say something in a different way that I know is going to be a little bit funnier, but when the object isn’t to be funny… you know, when I’m describing… you know, a monster’s intestines  or something [laughter]

Maron: So you’re at an autopsy table, there’s intestines there, and you gotta play it straight.

Howerton: Well, apparently Guillermo is a giant Sunny fan.

Day: Yeah, he’s seen every episode. And when I met him he kept asking me to quiz him, and I’m like, “I believe you.”

Day (cont’d): …so yeah, I don’t know about the typecasting thing. I’m very fortune he saw me…

I must say it makes perfect sense to me that Guillermo would be a Always Sunny In Philadelphia fan, with such a dark sense of humor. But that aside, it’s cool to hear that when Del Toro brings on an actor and makes an unorthodox casting choice, that he’s aggressive about letting that person work the material to suit them. There’s not a ton of meat on those bones, but it’s the first I’ve heard of Day openly talking about having the part, and the first of what I think will be much more coverage as the film nears shooting.

We’ve seen Day apply a more grounded version of his Sunny character in Horrible Bosses, but seeing him branch out fully into a more serious part will be interesting. I’d be lying if I said that I’m fully convinced Day can sell drama but considering I have no idea what Guillermo’s script actually calls for, I’m in no place to make a call. If anything though, hearing him speak so extensively (out of character) on the podcast definitely convinced me that Day is a thoughtful guy with a legit acting background that will put the work in to do the part justice.

I’d encourage you to listen to the rest of that episode right here if you’re an Always Sunny In Philadelphia fan, and to listen to the podcast in general if you like hearing comedians like Louie C.K. Amy Poehler, Doug Stanhope, Anhtony Jeselnik, Jonathan Winters, Bobcat Goldthwait talking intimately about their careers and their process. There’s definitely a curve to becoming accustomed to Maron’s neurotic, hyper-reflective hosting style, but it’s a very rewarding show if you do.