Charlie Sheen made Rs 16 cr per episode of Two and a Half Men; co-star Jon Cryer says he got a third of that: ‘He was like North Korea’s dictator’

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Cryer went on to reveal that Warner Bros, who produced the show, had pre-sold some of the seasons of the show. This facilitated them spending even more money on Sheen. This adds to the already long list of things Cryer has said about Sheen in the past and puts some light on the creators of the show as well. According to a report by Forbes in 2011, Sheen was making $1.9 million (Rs 16 crore) per episode. But when Sheen was replaced with Ashton Kutcher in 2013, THR reported that Cryer was earning $62ok (Rs 54 lakh) for an episode.

Sheen’s exit from the show was rushed because it was done in order to get rid of him. His refusal to attend rehab and the several episodes of showing up drunk or hurling abuses at creator Chuck Lorre all contributed to him getting fired. In the same documentary, the actor talked about why he never returned to the show and said, “I remember saying, ‘Dude, I dunno man. ‘I’m feeling emotionally done there.’ And I get there’s a tonne of money at stake, and I get there’s a lot more juice to be squeezed out of this thing, but I don’t know how much juice is left in me. And I do fear if I go back, it’s going to go terribly wrong.’ I said those words.”

The actor was, in fact, supposed to be out of the show earlier but had been convinced to stay by the former head of CBS, Les Moonves. Sheen wanted to leave, but a $2 million (Rs 17 cr) per episode contract got him to stay. Sheen called it a “recipe for disaster”, as the new contract and the whole bunch of money coincided with his relapse.