Chuck Lorre Had To Fight To Cast One Of Two And A Half Men's Main Actors

Who could imagine "Two and a Half Men" without Jon Cryer's meek Alan Harper alongside Charlie Sheen's arrogant Charlie today? Looking back at the sitcom's 12-season run, it's evident that the show has become a tremendous success mainly because of the two actors' rambunctious chemistry on screen. The casting was pitch-perfect for these types of characters, and one of the series' creators, Chuck Lorre — aka the King of Sitcoms — had a pivotal role in getting Cryer for the part despite some pretty heavy pushback from CBS, where the show aired from 2003 to 2015.

During the casting process for "Two and a Half Men," the network made it clear from the get-go that they didn't want Jon Cryer. Not to audition, star, or have anything to do with the show whatsoever, if they could help it. Lorre has been open about this condition in several interviews since, and in one he gave for WWNY-TV, the creator explained, "When we were casting 'Two and a Half Men,' CBS, the executives at CBS were adamant about one thing — they did not want to hire John Cryer. Absolutely didn't want to see him, didn't want him to audition — not John Cryer," Lorre said.

The veteran TV producer added in another interview (via Archive of American Television) that the network strictly objected to casting the actor because he'd been in several television pilots prior that had failed and didn't make it to air. Lorre, however, insisted on bringing him in for an audition because he knew his talent as the two had worked together before, and because the actor's representatives helped convince him that Cryer would be excellent for this particular role. So, going against the one caveat CBS had, Lorre trusted his gut, brought Cryer in to audition, and the rest was history.

Despite the tumultuous and trouble-laden work relationship Cryer had with Sheen towards the latter's eventual exit from "Two and a Half Men," their amusing on-screen dynamic remained mostly intact (at least to us viewers), as far as their characters went — and until Sheen was scandalously fired for his awful behavior. Alan and Charlie built a solid rapport over the years, and even if we could see where many of their interactions headed from a mile away most of the time, they usually succeeded in putting a smile on our faces at least once during each episode. The back-and-forth and often ridiculously offensive banter between the two has become quite predictable early on, but it also provided a core quality to the show that regular viewers could always rely on.

Overall, Chuck Lorre's hard-fought decision to cast Jon Cryer despite CBS's initial protest had paid off handsomely in numerous ways. At its peak, the series brought in over 28 million viewers and garnered 47 Emmy nominations, from which it had won nine, throughout its 12-year run. Two of those went to Cryer as Outstanding Supporting and Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009 and 2012, respectively. I mean, whoever saw him in his breakout role in John Hughes's 1986 coming-of-age classic, "Pretty in Pink," had to know he's got the juice. Chuck Lorre certainly did.