Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer has claimed that his salary was ‘a third’ of what Charlie Sheen received when they worked together on the CBS sitcom
Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer has claimed that his salary was ‘a third’ of what Charlie Sheen received. The actor, 60, starred as Alan Harper on the CBS sitcom from 2003 until 2015, alongside Charlie, also 60, as Charlie Harper, and was honoured with two Emmy Awards for his work but revealed that he was not paid nearly as much as his co-star.
The series centred on the ups and downs that came about when divorcee Alan and his son Jake (Angus T. Jones) moves in with Charlie, but, more than a decade after it all came to an end, the subject of money has come up as part of a new Netflix documentary AKA Charlie Sheen.
It’s thought that Charlie was earning $2 million per episode towards the end of the sitcom’s run, whilst Jon was earning at least two-thirds less than that, and only managed to get to a salary of $620,000 an episode once his co-star had left.
READ MORE: Charlie Sheen’s message to Jon Cryer after Netflix documentary and his very cold replyREAD MORE: Charlie Sheen’s daughter Sami in tears over dad’s documentary revelation after cutting contact
Jon has now explained that Charlie was able to negotiate a salary that was ‘off the charts’ as he suffered through a well-documented battle with substance abuse, and endured marital difficulties with then-wife Denise Richards.
He said: “Well, that’s what happened here. [Sheen’s] negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart. Me, whose life was pretty good at that time, I got a third of that!” He also noted that bosses had been under pressure to sign Charlie in the first place because they had ‘pre-sold a couple extra seasons of the show.”
When Charlie left the show in 2011, he was replaced by Ashton Kutcher, who took on the role of Alan’s best friend, Walden Schmidt, but it’s thought that he earned $700,000 per episode at that time.
Despite not contacting Jon, Charlie was appreciative of his former co-star for speaking “honestly and very compassionately” for the documentary. He admitted the only reason he didn’t reach out prior to the production was due to having an incorrect number.
The Hollywood star told People: ” I wrote to him and I said, ‘Hey, thank you for your contributions, and I’m sorry we didn’t connect personally. I hope to see you around the campus.'”
However, he admits he is yet to hear back from the star – although he believes he might have the wrong details. “It’s not like Jon did not respond. He’s super responsible like that,” he added. “So if you’re reading this, Jon, DM me your new number!”
And he admitted that his former co-star had “nailed” his words on the documentary regarding Sheen’s lack of belief that he deserved the fame and fortune he received. Jon had explained how he thought this is where his struggles and addiction my have stemmed from, leading Sheen to say he was “dead on”.
Wild Things star Denise, who has Sami, 21, and Lola, 20, with Charlie and is also adoptive mother to 13-year-old Eloise, was also interviewed for the two-parter and had paid a visit to his home during the tumultuous time where she made sandwiches.
She said: “I’m making sandwiches and Jon was super nervous and he goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I go, ‘Well, he hasn’t eaten and I’m making sandwiches.
“And then you see two or three hookers come downstairs. And I remember Jon asking me, ‘Are you making them sandwiches?’ and I go, ‘Well, yeah. What am I gonna say? Sorry, because of what you do for a living, you don’t get one of my white trash mayo, mustard, turkey, cheese, lettuce sandwiches?’”
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