Some actors aren’t ready to let go when a show ends but, when Two and a Half Men concluded, co-leading man Jon Cryer was apparently ready to move on. He played Alan Harper, brother to Charlie Sheen's character, Charlie Harper for 12 years. And, during that time, BTS drama occurred between Sheen and series co-creator Chuck Lorre, who famously fired the actor from his leading role. Cryer recently admitted to having become “exhausted” with the series by the end of its run.
Cryer became the last of the original trio to make up the titular Two and a Half Men, as Angus T. Jones, who played his character's son, Jake, left after as a regular after Season 10. While speaking with People, Cryer reflected on the development of Alan and why it became tiring -- and I totally get it:
I had felt like I had done so much of Alan that I was starting to run out of places to go with the character. The writers had done amazing work coming up with new stuff and really doing wonderful things with the character, but I had become exhausted with it.
12 years is a long time to play the same character, and there's only so much writers and a performer can do with one role. Alan certainly went through his fair share of ups and downs (but mostly downs) throughout Men's run. The creative team should be applauded for finding different things to do with Cryer's character, but it's reasonable that the star -- who landed two Emmy wins for his portrayal -- would need a fresh, creative start after all that.
This isn’t the first time Cryer has dished about his time on the long-running series. He previously discussed how Sheen used his messy personal life to negotiate his salary, which eventually made him the highest paid actor on TV before his firing. The actor's character was killed off screen at the beginning of Season 9, though had a second more elaborate death (without Sheen appearing in person) in the series finale. Let’s just say it involved a piano.
However, Sheen's departure gave Cryer an opportunity to give his character a new chapter. The actor explained, “We had to sort of remake what the show was.” With that, Ashton Kutcher joined the cast as billionaire tech genius Walden Schmidt, remaining with the show for its final four seasons. That aside, Cryer has clarified that he and Sheen didn't get into arguments and previously stated the internet has gotten their relationship wrong.
Despite the "amazing experience" Jon Cryer had on set, an actor naturally needs to spread their wings and try other endeavors. Though he also has respect for Kelsey Grammer for having the longest-running portrayal of a character between Cheers and Frasier:
That's amazing. [Grammer] is a really singular talent, but I just felt like that there were other characters I wanted to do.
Like Grammer, Cryer has gone onto do a variety of things, including taking up the mantle of Lex Luther in the CW series Supergirl and the Arrowverse in general. He even briefly returned to sitcoms in NBC's short-lived Extended Family, alongside Scrubs star Donald Faison. Cryer can currently be seen in the stage production The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Vice Principal Douglas Panch.
However, you can still watch Cryer as Alan Harper by streaming all 12 seasons of Men with Peacock subscription. He was notably absent from the Two and a Half Men reunion on HBO Max’s Bookie. , which brought together Angus T. Jones, Sheen and Lorre, . Cryer did appear in Sheen’s Netflix documentary to “tell his side of the story” in support of his former co-star.
Hopefully, we'll see a reunion between the two one day. Just maybe not a Two and a Half Man revival. Regardless of how Jon Cryer felt at the end of his time on the show, though, his performance as the mostly well-meaning but mooching Alan will surely be remembered for some time.
