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Ronald "Mac" McDonald is the bouncer and co-owner of Paddy's Pub, and one of five main characters in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Mac was born some time in 1977[1x3] to Luther McDonald and Mrs. McDonald. When Mac was young, his parents would break into houses on Christmas with him to steal presents, something which Mac believed was a South Philly tradition.[5x13] Luther was sentenced to prison for dealing meth[3x11] and was absent for much of Mac's childhood, while his mother worked at Jiffy Lube.[6x6] His best friend was Charlie Kelly, who attended St. Vincent's Elementary School and was in the same class as Mac.[1x7] Every Christmas, they would hang out by the tracks and throw rocks at trains.[5x13]

He attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School alongside Charlie and Dennis Reynolds, who he became acquainted with through selling him weed. Mac earned the nickname "Ronnie the Rat" after ratting out another dealer,[7x12] and was generally disliked, though tolerated as he dealt drugs to the "popular kids". He and Charlie frequently hung out in Charlie's mother's basement huffing glue,[1x3] and Dennis joined them in hanging out behind dumpsters and under the bleachers. He slept with Dennis' prom date, and withheld this from him.[7x13]

Personality[]

Mac comes from a broken home; his father Luther was an incarcerated meth dealer, and his mother was extremely apathetic. He is highly aggressive, often quick to begin shouting and threaten physical violence. He once got a knife-wielding meth head to back off after he sternly told him to "give us a minute" while arguing with Dennis.[2x7] He's frightened even Dennis with his rage when, in Mac's eyes, he was just simply responding to Dennis' light banter.[9x3] In a therapy session, Mac admitted to feeling a large range of emotions in quick succession.[8x5] Mac also comes out as gay in the sixth episode of the twelfth season.[12x6]

Self-image[]

Mac is obsessed with being tough and looking like a badass. Mac constantly seeks acceptance of his parents, but his over-earnest efforts make him come off as an asshole.[3x11] He has a series of project badass videos that involve him doing various stunts to make him look tough, badass, or like a daredevil.[4x4] Mac frequently strives to appear "hard," usually to impress his father or friends. In reality, though, he is a coward.

Mac is highly competitive and is unable to control his competitiveness.[4x12] For example, when he learned that Charlie and the McPoyle brothers were possibly sexually molested by their—and Mac's—elementary school gym teacher, he feels rejected and worries that he is somehow inferior for having not been molested himself. He proceeds to research why he didn't get molested, stating that, "If the McPoyles got blown, and Charlie got blown, then why didn't I get blown?". [1x7]

Mac is jealous of other people's success. Although he seeks his friends' acceptance, Mac takes special pleasure in undermining, physically harming, contradicting, and publicly belittling Sweet Dee at every possible opportunity.

Mac is easily flattered and manipulated, especially if complimented about his body or his fighting skills. He had had an ongoing sexual relationship with a pre-op trans woman named Carmen, largely because she was so adept at flattering him about his buff body [1x4]. He claimed that he was just "putting in time" as he waited for her surgery. [3x10]

Due to his inflated and fragile self-image, Mac is riddled with insecurities and often places great pressure on himself to look superior or not fail at anything. Consequentially, when given an unwanted position, he will attempt to use it to glamorize himself, such as, when being forced to referee the Gang's drinking challenge in "The Gang Beats Boggs" due to losing a chugging contest, Mac immediately convinces himself the Gang made him "Bud Selig", despite being repeatedly told that "no one did", and takes his refereeing duties far too seriously, to the point that Charlie tries to calm him down. In "The Gang Goes To Hell", thinking he has "failed" at a game, he gets extremely emotional and produces a cat-o-nine-tails for someone to beat him with "so [he] can be a better boy", implying he punishes himself harshly for every perceived failure.

At one point described by Dennis as being "in complete denial about absolutely every aspect of his life", Mac is the most openly self-delusional of the Gang, clinging to various fantasies about being tough, badass, a good Catholic, straight (until season 12), and, in particular, loved by his cold and exploitative father. Whenever anything happens to puncture these self-deceptions, he immediately twists or rationalizes his perception of them to fit with his view of himself and the world.

However, despite being incredibly out of touch with reality, Mac is surprisingly reasonable and quite possibly the most normal member of the Gang, due to not being as cunning and manipulative as Dennis and Dee, as twisted as Frank or as strange and foolish as Charlie. By Season 12, he's come to terms with his sexuality, tones down his religious preaching, gives an impassioned and sensible argument against hate speech, is horrified at Frank killing innocent children in their VR game, is often the source of sensible advice, has the emotional sensibility to give Dennis a Valentine, and is willing to be a dad to Dennis' secret child. Season 13 also shows this, as Mac showed that he believes the best way to avoid sexual harassment charges is to stop sexually harassing people, something the rest of the gang seem to disagree with.

Position in the Gang[]

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; however, the pair believes that Mac is just trying to "bang" them. [4x4]

Mac sees himself as the boss in most situations and the gang constantly complains about his bossiness.

From "Mac Day" onward, the Gang seems consistently annoyed by Mac and make regular mention of how they hate him, due to his bossiness, religious pride, hypocritical homophobia, and desperate neediness. However, Dee allows him to stay in her apartment with Dennis, and Dennis never once tries to stop being roommates with him during this time, although living for a month in the suburbs with him seeemed to drive Dennis to a breaking point.

When Mac comes out of the closet for good in "Hero or Hate Crime?", the Gang agrees that they're happy for him despite hating him, and earlier told him that they won't like him whether he's in or out of the closet. After that episode, though, everyone seems to treat Mac nicer due to his being more honest with himself, even chanting for him simply for walking into the bar in "The Gang Tends Bar". Dennis is also driven to tears when Mac gives him his first Valentine's gift but is still clearly cold and dismissive of him and his emotions in "Dennis' Double Life" (as Mac assumed they would share a bedroom in their refurbished apartment).

In "The Gang Makes Paddy's Great Again", the rest of the Gang tells Cindy that the best way to handle Mac's neediness is to ignore it "like you would a baby", and all uncomfortably avoid answering Mac's "you guys like me, right?" He continues to earn the Gang's ire by continuing his needy and delusional behaviors, though Frank comes to understand Mac's struggles in a much deeper and sympathetic way in "Mac Finds His Pride". This gang dynamic more or less persists until season 15 in which it is noticeably downplayed.

Religion[]

A Catholic, Mac is the only member of The Gang to profess a religious faith. In "The Gang Exploits A Miracle", Mac fears that the Lord will show his wrath if they continue to exploit the water stain in the bar. Throughout the series, Mac refuses to wear a condom during sex, because as he explains to Charlie he went to Catholic school. 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 tells her to get an abortion when he thinks she has become pregnant by him. In another instance involving the transgender woman 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’s overly literal, fire and brimstone perspective on Catholicism appears to confuse and unnerve other Catholics and even Catholic priests (“How Mac Got Fat” “Mac Day” “The Gang Goes to Hell Part 1” “Dee Sinks in a Bog”). He sometimes attempts to “convert” his friends to his perspective in a ridiculously short amount of time (“Mac Day” “The Gang Goes to Hell”) and regularly denounces science (“Reynolds vs. Reynolds: The Cereal Defense”). He regularly punishes himself for minor failures such as missing at his turn at shuffleboard (“The Gang Goes to Hell”) yet refuses to take responsibility for his actual self-destructive actions and blames much of his misfortune on his friends (“How Mac Got Fat”). He interprets most bad things in the world as God punishing non-Catholics for their sins, and when he does change his mind, such as on global warming (“The Gang Solves Global Warming”) still finds a way to twist his logic so that it was all part of “God’s plan.” Though he regards his Catholicism as a major part of his identity, Mac agrees when Frank notes, “The Catholics really fucked you up, huh?” (“Mac Finds His Pride”)

Sexuality[]

Mac prefers not to use condoms, even when he's having sex with people he doesn't know. [3x10] He only reluctantly agrees to wear a condom with the Waitress in "Mac's Banging the Waitress". There is much evidence that Mac is harboring one or more STDs. [3x12]

While continuing his charade as a heterosexual in earlier seasons, Mac seemed to have a thing for older women. He had sex with Dennis and Dee's mom, Barbara Reynolds, later saying it was the best sex of his life. [2x5] He also expressed interest in Barbara's sister, Aunt Donna. [5x4]. This also might be due to his lower intelligence, and Barbara Reynolds's successful seduction of Mac while attempting to make Frank jealous. Having been described as a 'whore' many times (almost exclusively by Frank), it would make sense that Mac had fallen easily to her whims. Having felt a confidence in someone reaching out to him, he also may have been interested in Aunt Donna hoping that she would behave the same as Barbara.

Mac is shown to have extremely low standards when it comes to trying to sleep with women. He claimed to Charlie that they could get quite lucky at Maureen Ponderosa's wedding to Liam McPoyle, apparently having no issue attempting to sleep with any of the McPoyle women.[8x3]

Mac places sex above friendship, and has betrayed his two best friends by dating or having sex with women very important to them:

Throughout the first 11 seasons, there were many insinuations that Mac was a closeted gay man; this was manifested by his obsession with men's physiques and his reactionary religious views on homosexuality. It is also implied that he might be in love with Dennis. He briefly came out in the Season 11 finale, The Gang Goes to Hell, but after being rescued, he takes this as a sign of God existing, and goes back in the closet. He decides to properly come out and stay out in Season 12's Hero or Hate Crime?, and in the Season 13 finale, Mac Finds His Pride, comes out to his father.

Relationships[]

Mrs. McDonald[]

Luther McDonald[]

Charlie Kelly[]

Dennis Reynolds[]

Deandra Reynolds[]

Frank Reynolds[]

Physical Appearance[]

Mac claims to work out at the gym all the time. [1x4]

However, he only works out his "glamour muscles" (bis and tris) and lacks core strength. [5x6]  He is also not athletic in any sense: when he wins a contest to take a shot at a Philadelphia Flyers game, it's revealed that not only can he not play hockey at all, he can't actually ice skate either and has a very stiff posture that is difficult for him to break. [6x4]

Mac usually wears sleeveless shirts or tight tees to draw attention to his glamour muscles and to exhibit his "tribal" tattoos. [1x2] The tattoos are a dragon on his right forearm, a feather on his right bicep, and an eagle on his left. He also seems to have a four leaf clover tattoo on his right thigh.[1x7] By season 13 he has begun the process of removing his tattoos and by season 15 his four leaf clover is the only one that remains, to the disdain of the gang. When they demand he get rid of it, he threatens to get a second one on his left thigh.[15x8]

Mac's T-shirts usually have an ironic slogan on the front and are occasionally worn with a long-sleeved thermal underneath. His most iconic shirts are a purple T-shirt with "Detroit" stylized as a smoking gun, a black "RIOT" T-shirt (also seen in grey), and a variety of obnoxious, colorful Hawaiian shirts, which are his main look in seasons 7 and 15 especially. Completing the ensemble is a pair of navy blue Dickies slacks and worn-out combat boots; both have been with him from the very beginning and, while genuinely durable and in line with Mac's desire to look "badass", are rather bulky and restrictive items of clothing that make Mac's supposed feats of agility and athleticism all the more difficult.

Occasionally he will wear a battered leather blazer or a long leather duster. Mac maintains a light beard and mustache, though in Season 7 grows it out bushy and in Season 8 goes with only a 5 o'clock shadow. In Season 16, he is completely clean shaven. He often slicks his hair back, like his father Luther's. His formal attire appears to usually be a black polo shirt with a tie.

A major plotline during Season 7 was Mac's sudden, and quite dramatic, weight gain. Mac claimed that he was "cultivating mass", but everyone else, correctly, saw him as just getting fat. However, Mac seemed to truly believe that his weight gain was muscle, not fat. He has lost the weight again, and in the Season Eight premiere, Mac says that his "sudden and unfortunate" weight loss is putting Paddy's in jeopardy because it might hinder his ability to do his job as head of security. (The Gang assures him that they don't feel any less safe than they did when he was fat.)

It is revealed that the reason for Mac's weight loss is that Dennis has been giving him "Mexican ephedra" pills, which caused him to lose his appetite, and telling Mac that they were "size pills". [8x5]

By the time of Season 13 Mac has become ripped.[13x1]

Trivia[]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • "Mac" was originally a nickname derived from Rob McElhenney's surname. After using it for his character in the show, he eventually stopped going by it altogether.
  • In the production script for Mac Is a Serial Killer, Mac's full name is listed as "Ronald P. MacDonald". When asked what the P. would be, Rob McElhenney stated it would be Patrick, named for his brother, Patrick McElhenney, a photographer who provides the majority of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's promotional stills and other material. This would make Mac's full name "Ronald Patrick McDonald".[1]
  • Rob McElhenney is married to Kaitlin Olson, who portrays Dee.
  • Rob McElhenney revealed that Mac has been wearing the same combat boots since the beginning of the series, and only owns one pair of navy blue Dickies. He notes in The Always Sunny Podcast that Season 2 is when they decided to keep them as his main attire, as Season 1 Mac occasionally wear jeans and sneakers as well.
    • While Rob maintains it's always been the same pair of pants that the wardrobe department alters, it can be seen from season 13 onward that the blue Dickies Mac wears are a different pair than before, as they are more slim fit and have an additional pocket on the back right thigh that was absent before. Mac's also wore a black pair in The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis, and on a few occasions wears navy blue Dickies shorts (both actual shorts and cut-offs).
    • Barring season 1, the only non-event episodes where his combat boots are completely absent are The Gang Gets Whacked: Part 2 (in which he only wears white sneakers) and Mac and Charlie: White Trash (in which he wears Converse high tops).
  • A season 5 promo titled "Relationships" features Danny DeVito saying, "you know that they're gay, right?" regarding Mac and Dennis, followed by McElhenney clarifying that "if [Mac and Dennis] were to have sex, [Mac] would be the top, [Dennis] would be the bottom."[2]
  • In the commentary track for Mac and Dennis Break Up, Charlie Day states that "[Mac and Dennis are] gay, they're clearly gay", and "there's no arguing that they're closeted homosexuals".

Other[]

  • At least two of Mac's cousins are also gay; Brett [1x1] and Country Mac. His father also has sex with a man.[10x7] His uncle, Donald, is also gay.[16x2]
  • Mac's dog, Poppins has been around since he was a child.[6x6]
  • As of 2007, Mac only had two phone numbers saved in his contacts - Charlie and Dennis.[3x3]
  • Mac originally introduces the duster to the Gang.[3x6]
  • Although Mac's full name was not revealed until the Season 7 finale, however, it was hinted at early on that "Mac" was his surname; on parole papers seen in "Mac and Charlie Die (Part 1)", Mac's father's name is listed as "Luther Mac", and in "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell", the Colonial-era Mac character is referred to as "McDonald." In "The High School Reunion", his full name was finally revealed to be "Ronald McDonald."
  • In the Season 10 episode "The Gang Goes on Family Fight", and says that Frank has adopted him. Despite this, he does not appear to have legally changed his name, and it is unclear whether Frank legitimately adopted him or not.
  • Mac keeps a karate trophy in his childhood room, which he found in the street. [5x13]
  • Throughout the series, Mac flashes his signature "puppy-dog look" when he is ashamed or when he proposes something reprehensibly shameful.
  • Mac had always considered for Paddy's to be an "Irish Catholic bar". Here is his full-of-righteous-anger question to the Gang: "Where's our goddamn Bible?!". [6x1] Later, in "Sweet Dee Gets Audited", Mac stated it literally: "...we're an Irish Catholic bar".
  • In the episode "Mac Fights Gay Marriage," Dennis kicks Mac out of their apartment and tells him he doesn't own a single thing in the entire apartment. This is likely because previously, in the episode "Mac and Charlie Die (Part 2)" Dennis threw out all of Mac's belongings when he "thought Mac was dead."
  • Mac's favorite type of Gatorade is blue.[11x10]
  • Mac is 5'9.[8x8]
  • It is implied that the only thing Mac knows how to cook is his "famous mac and cheese" (which is revealed to be store-bought boxed mac and cheese).[11x5][13x1]
  • Mac is also the only member of the Gang who has been a member of it since its introduction: Frank and Dee were not initially considered a part of it, Schmitty was kicked out twice while Charlie quit temporarily, and Dennis abandoned it to pursue fatherhood, only to return later and kick out his replacement Cindy. Mac was scheduled to be swapped out for his cousin, who suffered a fatal injury before this could be carried out.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12
Season 13
Season 14
Season 15
Season 16

See also[]

References[]

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