Before Two And A Half Men, Jon Cryer Starred In The Worst Superman Movie Ever

Superman is back on top thanks to James Gunn's newest film. Despite some loud, petulant voices online, 2025's "Superman" has been met with largely positive praise, including from /Film's Chris Evangelista. Whether it's too silly or convoluted is a matter of personal taste, but it feels like there's one thing everyone can agree on: It's better than 1987's "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace."

1978's "Superman: The Movie" received three sequels (not including "Supergirl" starring Helen Slater) in under a decade, with "Quest for Peace" largely seen as the worst "Superman" film of all time. The movie sees the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) trying to undo the effects of nuclear armament around the globe. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) returns following a prison break orchestrated by his nephew, Lenny Luthor, played by a young Jon Cryer. 

That's right, before Cryer was a sitcom staple on "Two and a Half Men," working with an increasingly volatile Charlie Sheen for years, he played second banana to a different kind of mad man. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" was one of Cryer's earliest film roles, who was mostly known for being in teen comedies, like "Pretty in Pink" and "O.C. and Stiggs," up to that point. It's nice that the film bombing with critics and at the box office didn't derail Cryer's promising career. 

"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" was ultimately bested by a villain far more common than a nuclear-powered Superman clone — a lack of money. The movie was supposed to have a budget of $32 million due to the visual effects required, but it got chopped to $17 million when the film's producer, The Cannon Group, suffered a financial setback. 

Cryer himself spoke of this mishap and how it tanked any chances of the film being good. He was a guest on the "Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch" podcast, seeing as he played Dr. Cyril Taft on three episodes of "NCIS" season 13 , and he didn't mince words of his time in the worst DC film offering:

"If you watch the movie, they never finished the special effects, so they had to cut huge chunks out of the movie and it doesn't make rational sense anymore. And I'm sad about it because I loved the [original] Superman movie."

Cryer also admits to sharing some of the blame elsewhere on the podcast: "I'm not good in it, by the way. That was another thing that I'm kind of embarrassed about was that I made a very strong character choice that in retrospect did not work." That character choice would appear to be making Lenny Luthor dumb, quirky, and naive, although it's unclear how much of that can fall on him and how much comes from Lenny's depiction in the screenplay. Either way, Cryer would see far more success sticking to comedies like "Two and a Half Men," but he wouldn't throw in the towel on superhero adaptations just yet.

One of the nicest things about The CW's DC shows is how they would bring back older actors who had starred in previous adaptations to have another go-around. Probably the best example is John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen in the short-lived '90s "The Flash" series, playing Barry's father Henry in The CW's "The Flash." 

However, Jon Cryer also had a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of Superman fans by playing the big, bald Lex Luthor himself on "Supergirl." The show would even pay homage to the worst "Superman" movie with the season 4 finale being titled "The Quest for Peace." 

Cryer has stated in interviews how he very much enjoyed his time on "Supergirl," even playing the character across the CW-verse with appearances on "Arrow" and "Batwoman." It definitely sounds like it was a more positive experience compared to "Superman IV," but Cryer must be his own worst critic, as he still has one regret about playing Lex: 

"I am sorry to see 'Superman & Lois' go as well, because I think that was just a fantastic new look at those characters. I think they managed to really crack it by being faithful to who Superman is. And my biggest regret is that I never was on it."

Hear that? Cryer wants more DC work. Maybe James Gunn needs to tap him for a role in his ever-expanding DC Universe.