Jon Cryer is opening up candidly about a turbulent period on "Two and a Half Men." Just before Charlie Sheen's notorious dismissal from the CBS sitcom in 2011, amid his highly publicized struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, Sheen managed to secure an enormous pay raise, leaving his onscreen brother earning a mere fraction of his salary.
"He's unraveling in every way imaginable," Cryer reminisced in Netflix's documentary "aka Charlie Sheen," released on September 10. "And yet, he's in the midst of renegotiating his contract for another year of a show that I'm also supposed to be a part of."
The "Pretty in Pink" actor went on to draw a comparison between Sheen and the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, noting how the latter would, at times, secure foreign aid during periods of heightened tensions with other nations—countries that, as Cryer put it, "were so terrified of him that they'd just throw money at him."
In early 2011, in the weeks following Sheen's rehab stint and ahead of his dismissal from "Two and a Half Men" in March, Sheen appeared unpredictable and erratic during several livestreams and interviews. He boasted about having "tiger blood," described himself as a "high priest Vatican warlock," and a "total fricking rock star from Mars."
Cryer believes that Sheen's erratic behavior played a role in why he was able to command such a substantial pay increase. "Well, that's precisely what happened here," he explained in the documentary. "His negotiations went through the roof because his life was in shambles. Meanwhile, me—whose life was going pretty well at that time—ended up with a third of that."
E! has reached out to CBS and Warner Bros. Television, the show's producers, for comment but has not received a response.
Sheen ultimately secured a pay raise of about $600,000 for season eight of "Two and a Half Men," earning $1.9 million for each 22-minute episode before his mid-season dismissal, as reported by Forbes in May 2011. The publication added that he made over $30 million in total for the 16 episodes he filmed.
The "Spin City" alum eventually sued Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. for $100 million over his termination, with the parties reaching a $25 million settlement later that year.
In the 14 years since the scandals surrounding his "Two and a Half Men" firing and his subsequent profanity-laced rants, Sheen has looked back with regret. "I just don't know what I was trying to prove," the 60-year-old told E! News on September 4 at the premiere of "aka Charlie Sheen." "I still haven't figured that out. And to take it that far, to keep pushing the envelope and chasing whatever that next thrill was? I don't know."
But Sheen, who is now eight years sober, maintains a positive perspective on that chaotic period in his life. "I tend to believe that we're the sum total of all our experiences, good and bad," he explained. "And if I'm going to preach that, then I have to embrace it as well."
As for his relationship with Cryer, while they haven't discussed the documentary or their differing recollections of that time, Sheen expressed gratitude for his former co-star's candid and compassionate words. "When I saw everything that Jon spoke about, so honestly and with such compassion," Sheen told People in an interview published on September 3, "I wrote to him and said, 'Hey, thank you for your contributions, and I'm sorry we didn't connect personally.'"
However, he suspects there's a reason he never heard back, adding, "It's not like Jon didn't respond. He's incredibly responsible like that. So if you're reading this, Jon, DM me your new number!"
