Hugh Grant has built a name for himself as a jack of all trades as far as various films are concerned. He had to make a concerted effort, however, to shake off the reputation of being a rom-com specialist.
Within the genre, the English actor delivered memorable roles in movies like Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Two Weeks Notice and Notting Hill – alongside Julia Roberts.
He also starred in Music and Lyrics and Four Weddings and a Funeral. For the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for “Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy” as well as a BAFTA for “Best Actor.”
On television, Grant’s career has looked significantly different. Not only has he never taken on drawn out roles on the small screen, he has barely done any comedy work in the field. His most significant television roles include in A Very English Scandal, The Undoing on HBO, and multiple TV films.
Things might have taken a different outlook, however, had he accepted a role in Two and a Half Men. This came after another one of the show’s numerous scandals saw lead actor Charlie Sheen fired.
What Role Was Hugh Grant Offered In Two And A Half Men?
The original story in Two and a Half Men followed the life of “jingle-writer Charlie, [who] is forced to change his lifestyle and learn to control his drinking, smoking, gambling and womanizing when after a twelve years marriage, his fresh dumped-by-wife brother [Alan] and his son [Jake] need a place to stay.”
The main role of Charlie Harper was played by Charlie Sheen, with Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones completing the line-up as Alan and Jake Harper, respectively. The show followed this same trajectory for eight seasons, until Sheen fell out with creator Chuck Lorre, and his position in the series became untenable.
With the main star of the show out on his ear, Lorre and broadcaster CBS were scrambling to find a replacement and keep Two and a Half Men on air. Hugh Grant was one of the actors approached to step in and fill the void left behind by Sheen.
Everything was happening so fast at that time, that by the time CBS approached Grant, they had neither a script nor a specific character in mind for him.
Hugh Grant Wanted To See A Script Before Saying Yes To Two And A Half Men
It was for this reason that Hugh Grant refused to accept the offer from CBS to effectively replace Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men.
“They talked to me about [a role in Two and a Half Men], but the problem was they didn’t have a script or a new character. They just said, ‘Trust us. We’ll create one,” Grant said in an interview with Howard Stern on SiriusXM in 2016. “I said, ‘Well, it’s very difficult for me to consider this without a script.’ And they said, ‘Trust us! Trust us!’”
Grant revealed how relentless Lorre and his team were in trying to persuade him to say yes. In the end, though, agreeing to a job without knowing what it would entail proved too much of a prospect for him.
“I said, ‘Well, you’re obviously brilliantly talented.’ Because I like that show! And they make brilliant TV shows, really,” Grant went on to tell Stern. “But I said, ‘I’m too scared to sign up without a script.”
How Much Money Did Hugh Grant Lose Out On When He Turned Down Two And A Half Men?
Hugh Grant is a man of means. Thanks to his illustrious career, Celebrity Net Worth estimates that as of 2022, he has amassed a net worth of $150 million. Still, one is left to wonder whether this might not have been significantly more had he said yes to a starring role in Two and a Half Men.
By the time Charlie Sheen was being shown the door from the series, he is believed to have been earning a whopping $1.8 million per episode. This was a significant hike from the original $300,000 he was receiving when the show first arrived at CBS in September 2003.
After Grant turned them down, Chuck Lorre and the network turned to Ashton Kutcher. The former That ‘70s Show star accepted the gig, and he was cast as Walden Schmidt, a billionaire who bought the Harper house and moved in with Alan.
Kutcher is said to have been offered $755,000 per episode to star in Two and a Half Men. Given his stature, Grant would have likely received that figure, or even more. Over the course of the four seasons that followed, he would have therefore pocketed a minimum gross of $6 million.