Jon Cryer confessed that prior to the dismissal of Charlie Sheen on Two And A Half Men, they saw drastic changes in his overall behavior. It was widely known in the industry that Charlie Sheen has had a hard time staying away from his vices.Soon, it would take a toll on his career and would ultimately lead to him losing millions. On his last season on Two And A Half Men, Charlie Sheen took home a massive $1.8 million per episode, however, that amount wasn't enough for him to stay away from his not so good habits. Jon Cryer detailed the changes on Charlie Sheen's overall well-being prior to getting fired.
Charlie Sheen's Addiction Ultimately Took A Toll On Him
In 2009, it became imminent that Charlie Sheen's substance abuse and alcoholism would affect his personal life and directly impact the set of Two And A Half Men.
His co-star Jon Cryer detailed how he found out about Charlie's arrest in late 2009. He said to Hollywood Reporter, "I had been enjoying Christmas Day of 2009 so much with my family around me that I somehow managed to stay away from all Internet-connected devices. It’s the holiday present that doesn’t announce itself, really. "
He continued, "Then, of course, you give in, check a news site and read that your co-star “Carlos Irwin Estevez” has been arrested in Aspen, Colo., for spousal battery [of third wife Brooke Mueller]. Alarmed and freaked out, I texted him: Dude, my thoughts are with you. If you need to talk, give a call; if you’ve got bigger problems, call me when you get back."
Charlie Sheen responded with some jokes, and he took it as a sign that Charlie was in good hands. Despite that, he admitted that Charlie Sheen was obviously not in great shape anymore. He said, "It seemed pretty clear my friend and colleague wasn’t sober anymore. We exchanged “Merry Xmas” texts, though mine had a question mark, to which Charlie texted back, I’ll take it!"
Jon Cryer Was Hopeful For Charlie Sheen To Get Back On Track
Cryer also revealed that Sheen's manager, Mark Burg, has reached out to him and asked him to offer some words of encouragement to Sheen and Cryer gladly complied. He said, "I told him I would be happy to but that it sounded like Charlie wasn’t sober anymore, and I hoped he’d get on track again."
He continued, "Situations like this are rough on your sense of friendship and loyalty, because the allegations are serious, yet you know Charlie and Brooke are a drug-troubled pair, and Charlie’s your longtime friend who was proud of his sobriety, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do something to her, and you should give a woman the benefit of the doubt when she’s been abused, and oh, bo,"
Aside from Charlie Sheen's manager, the producer of the show, Chuck Lorre, also pleaded to Cryer and asked him to talk some sense into him.
Unfortunately though, he wasn't able to talk to Sheen after agreeing to Lorre's request since Sheen went to rehab the following day. Cryer said, "The next day, though, Charlie went into rehab, so we never got to have that conversation. Charlie did, however, have a different kind of productive conversation — with Warner Bros."
He further revealed, "Despite falling off the wagon, a rocky marriage, looming felony charges and possible time behind bars, he managed to secure a massive raise [to $1.8 million an episode], fully three times what I was being paid. I immediately began contemplating a series of well-publicized drunken brawls in retirement homes or possibly leading cops on a destructive car chase just prior to my next contract negotiation."
Jon Cryer Detailed The Massive Changes In Charlie Sheen's Performance During Season 8
Cryer was well aware early on that Charlie's performance had subsided in many different ways.
He said, "Charlie didn’t look so good as we started our eighth season in fall 2010: gaunt, pale, sallow, even sweaty occasionally. He started talking to himself. Most of all he just looked thinner, in a not-good way."
Aside from Sheen's obviously deteriorating appearance, his comedy was also going off. His delivery was nowhere near what it used to be.
Cryer continued, "His timing started to go off, too. He was rushing lines. Charlie just wasn’t hitting the jokes the way he used to. One time during rehearsals to choreograph the movement for a scene, he asked, “Can I just stand next to this couch?” He wanted to hold on to it for the duration of the scene."
Charlie Sheen's well-being went downhill from there and as everyone knows, he got fired by the following year.