Charlie Kelly

Charles "Charlie" Kelly is a fictional character on the FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, portrayed by Charlie Day. Charlie is co-owner at Paddy's (although he later sells his shares) and a childhood friend of Mac and Dennis. He is also Frank's roommate and possibly his biological son. He is addicted to huffing various glues and paints, and also does not know how to read or write.

Character overview
Charlie is an easily excitable man-child who is unable to cope with daily problems, prone to emotional outbursts and is often confused and flabbergasted by modern-day life. His anger management issues, substance abuse, poor hygiene, lack of common sense, and a poor grasp of reality tends to prevent him from ever achieving much success in life, and he instead lives in squalor. He frequently abuses inhalants such as glue, spray paint and poppers and, like the rest of the Gang, is a heavy drinker. He also frequently eats cat food before bed, to induce a feeling of sickness that allows him to fall asleep rapidly, which his roommate Frank also does.

Charlie's difficulty reading and writing, generally poor communication skills, and poor grasp of grammar and syntax result in constant berating by the rest of the Gang. He is unable to read or write correctly, and keeps a personal journal consisting predominantly of childlike pictures in place of actual sentences. Mac claims that "no one understands the subtleties of Charlie's retardation better than [Mac]." Like the rest of the Gang, Charlie has a poor grasp of history, current events and geography, sometimes avoiding conversations on these subjects altogether to salvage some dignity. He once described George Washington as "some old dude who looks like Meryl Streep who chopped down a cherry tree like ten million years ago." During the Gang's fight with an Israeli businessman, Charlie incongruously declared they would send their rival "on the first train back to Israel."

Charlie is, however, something of a savant, displaying natural talent as a pianist, music composer, playwright, choreographer, tailor, and hockey player. He is also very capable of devising intricate, Machiavellian schemes, manipulating other characters to his own ends. He particularly displays this when he seduces and manipulates a beautiful and wealthy girl named Ruby before insulting, rejecting, and humiliating her in front of a packed mansion of guests, merely because the Waitress finally acknowledged his presence in her life. He has also orchestrated elaborate schemes when given authority in the bar by Frank in the episode "Mac Bangs Dennis's Mom", where he successfully convinces Dennis to humiliate himself sexually and get in a fight with Mac and convinces Dee to give him favors and assistance in seducing the waitress. Charlie's obsession with the Waitress fuels a surprising capacity for cruelty and manipulation.

Charlie is the only one of the Gang who displays any real work ethic, being the only one taking on less-desirable work around the bar, work referred to as "Charlie work" by the rest of the Gang. Also, in the various episodes where he and the Gang get jobs outside the bar, he tends to have the most hustle. Overall, he seems to be the least morally bankrupt member of the Gang.