Jon Cryer is opening up about his longtime relationship with former co-star Charlie Sheen and where their friendship currently stands. The 2 actors portrayed brothers within the sitcom “Two and a Half Men” for eight seasons before Sheen was fired from the series. Their relationship later became strained after Sheen publicly criticized Cyer and labeled him a “traitor.”
Cryer’s latest comments come following his participation within the 2025 documentary “aka Charlie Sheen.”
On the May 1 episode of “The View,” Jon Cryer briefly talked about his former co-star, Charlie Sheen, while promoting his latest musical. When asked about his participation within the Netflix documentary, “aka Charlie Sheen,” the actor said he had “mixed feelings” about doing it.
“Obviously, he’s a really complicated guy, and we had a sophisticated relationship. But mostly, I noticed that I wasn’t mad at him anymore; I used to be still type of mad at America,” Cryer said. In 2011, Sheen had highly publicized meltdowns before and after being fired from “Two and a Half Men.”
Sheen’s erratic behavior became tabloid fodder, and Cryer said the general public looked as if it would “enjoy” seeing the actor go “off the rails.” Cryer continued, “I knew him as a friend and as a co-worker, and so it was painful to see all that.”
Jon Cryer Received A Text From His Former Co-Star
Cryer shared that a part of his reason for participating within the documentary was to inform his side of the story, saying that many individuals who knew the actor got here out to say “truthful, tough” things. “If the time is to be honest, let’s be honest,” Cryer said.
“aka Charlie Sheen” documented the actor’s profession, controversies, and struggles with addiction. Aside from Cryer, others who participated include Sheen’s ex-wives, Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, his longtime friend Sean Penn, “Two and a Half Men” showrunner Chuck Lorre, his members of the family, and Sheen himself.
Cryer revealed that Sheen texted him shortly after the documentary was released to thank him for agreeing to be interviewed. When asked by “The View” hosts whether he was open to repairing their relationship, he said yes, adding that they aren’t really even arguing and warning the audience that not every headline that comes out is true.
Charlie Sheen Called Jon Cryer A ‘Traitor’
“Two and a Half Men” premiered in 2003. It focused on the Harper brothers, Charlie (Sheen) and Alan (Cryer), as they navigated their latest living arrangement after Alan, newly divorced, and his son moved in with Charlie in his beach house.
The series dominated rankings during its run, drawing thousands and thousands of viewers. In 2011, nonetheless, Sheen’s contract was terminated following his public meltdowns and conflicts with Lorre. His character was killed off on the primary episode of Season 9, and Ashton Kutcher was brought in to portray Walden Schmidt, the rich man who purchases Charlie’s house. The series continued for 4 more seasons without Sheen.
Following his firing, Sheen lashed out at his former co-star for not reaching out to him. “He’s a turncoat, a traitor, a troll,” he said.
Jon Cryer Talked About Pay Discrepancy
Within the documentary, Cryer revealed the massive pay gap between him and Sheen. In his final 12 months on the show, Sheen reportedly negotiated a salary bump to $1.9 million per episode. Cryer revealed that he was paid only “a 3rd” of that.
The actor said he thinks his co-star got a pay increase in his last season due to what was happening in his life. Cryer compared Sheen to Kim Jong-Il, explaining how the North Korean dictator gets “enormous amounts of aid” from countries that were “scared” of him. “Negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart. Me, whose life was pretty good at the moment, I got a 3rd of that,” he revealed.
Charlie Sheen Called The Actor A ‘Lovely Man’
In April, Sheen offered an update about his relationship with Cryer. The actor said he at all times says he’s going to succeed in out to his former co-star, but he never follows through. “I don’t wish to hassle people, but I feel Jon could be open to that. Jon’s a stunning man and a really talented guy,” he said to PEOPLE.
The actor also expressed his gratitude to the individuals who participated within the documentary, saying that it was “very sweet” and “very cool.” “They may have easily said, ‘Go f-ck yourself. I’m not interested. I lived it. I don’t have to speak about it again.’ And I might have been, ‘OK, that’s high quality.’ But they didn’t, they usually stepped up,” he said.