Glenn Howerton is best known for starring as Dennis Reynolds in It's Always Sunny season 17 is set to debut on July 9, and the main cast are all expected to return for the season. That includes Howerton, who remains one of the main characters and a prominent face of the franchise, having even crossed over with the ever-popular Abbott Elementary in January. Howerton is not just an actor in It's Always Sunny, as he also serves as an executive producer, writer, director, and co-creator.

Though Howerton has found undeniable success with It's Always Sunny, it has not precluded him from starring in other shows and movies. He starred in A.P. Bio, The Fugitive, and Velma on the small screen and appears to be increasing his willingness to appear in a variety of shows. He tends to star as a similar character in every production, which provides some insight into Dennis' character. His recent involvement in a critically acclaimed Netflix show serves as further evidence of just how cruel Dennis Reynolds can be to others, especially if it means achieving his goals.

Glenn Howerton's Sirens Character Is Ridiculous, But It's Almost Impossible To Be Worse Than IASIP's Dennis

Dennis Is Completely Unique

Sirens' Ethan Corbin III is Howerton's most recent role, and it is not necessarily his most prominent. While he does appear repeatedly in the show and has a fairly consistent place in the narrative, Ethan is nowhere near a star. The main Sirens cast includes Meghann Fahy as Devon DeWitt, Milly Alcock as Simone DeWitt, Julianne Moore as Michaela Kell, and Kevin Bacon as Peter Kell. Howerton's role is relatively understated, though he plays a significant part in the final episode of season 1.

Ethan is nowhere near as morally absurd as the ever-escalating Dennis.

There is no way to know if the show will go on to earn a second season, but it has earned the approval of many critics. At the time of writing, the show has earned a respectable 73% Tomatometer score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Among top critics, it has even reached an 83% score, which is certainly impressive. Most critics praised the show's sense of humor, the strong performances, and the dark storyline. Audiences have been slightly colder, though still positive, as the Popcornmeter sits at a 66% score.

If the show itself has earned recognition, Howerton's Corbin has been relatively understated, given his lesser place in the narrative. Howerton certainly plays a ridiculous character, who serves as a trust fund neighbor with a private yacht and an inability to understand average life, but it is difficult to compare to the absurdity of Dennis. Even with all the wealth in the world, which is apparently enough to buy a suit jacket designed to feature ducks, Ethan is nowhere near as morally absurd as the ever-escalating Dennis. Despite Ethan's arrogance, nothing can match Dennis' need for both attention and power.

After all, Dennis believes in forcing women to comply with his directives, often forcing them into dependency just to ensure that they will rely on him forever. Dennis' most psychotic actions have seen him offering to outright murder, and he has had several warrants for alleged sexual misconduct. As terrible as Sirens' Ethan can be, especially as he attempts to manipulate Milly Alcock's Simone, it is nothing compared to Dennis' horrific actions throughout It's Always Sunny.

Sirens' Ethan Is Still A Big Change From Glenn Howerton's Typical Roles

Howerton Usually Prefers Very Different Self-Involved Jerks

While Ethan is far from morally justifiable, he is still not nearly the villain that Dennis is, nor does he match Howerton's other starring roles. Instead, Ethan is an extremely rich and thoughtless character, who often engages in summer flings with young girls, before eventually abandoning them with little care. It makes him self-involved, arrogant, and capricious, but it is relatively understated, compared to Howerton's typical roles.

In A.P. Bio, for example, Howerton played Dr. Jack Griffin, an arrogant and narcissistic Harvard-based philosophy professor, who is forced to teach biology at a local school. The absurdity of that situation made for a show that featured endless comedy, especially as Howerton was forced to deal with students who had little understanding of his lifelong love for philosophy and academics. Just as Jack's good intentions helped to divorce him from Dennis' ridiculous character, Ethan's lack of outright malice made him at least a unique character.

A.P. Bio ended with Jack remaining in Toledo, though forever questioning if he would eventually escape.

Howerton loves playing self-involved jerks, but Ethan is an entirely new type of self-involved jerk. It marks a major change for the actor, which only makes both Sirens' story and its ending more compelling. It is difficult to predict each step that Ethan will take, given Howerton's history of taking characters to their illogical extremes. Ethan represents a typical real-world antagonist, while Dennis is a villain to a level that few other characters can ever hope to match. Howerton's new role is further proof that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's sense of humor remains one of a kind.